Teacher's day: for whom and why

Teacher’s day is celebrated almost all over the world. While the US celebrates National Teacher Day on May 6, most of the Gulf countries celebrate it on February 28 every year. Agains, while India celebrates Teacher’s Day on September 5, World Teachers' Day is on October 5, a month after.

In India, Teacher’s Day coincides with the birthday of our second President Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan. As a great philosopher, a true statesman, and a renowned scholar Dr. Radhakrishnan epitomised all the qualities of head and heart which a teacher should have. Teacher’s day is an occasion for all of us to pay tribute to our teachers and commit ourselves to the values espoused by them. Dr. Radhakrishnan once said: "We have learnt to fly in the skies, we have learnt to race in the waters, but alas we have not yet learnt to walk on the earth."

India has a proud tradition of a lofty stature to teachers since ancient times. A teacher or Guru was considered at par with God and above parents and guardian in status, as he was the real mentor, guide, soul enhancer, and livelihood facilitator. The great Guru, Dronacharya is synonymous with all the greatness a teacher could possess. Well, of course, students were also high calibre. For example, Ekalavya sacrificed one of his fingers just because Dronacharya had asked for it. That was a rare gesture nowhere in the history of mankind.

Now the teacher-student relations have become professional, and the expertise and skills of teachers have enhanced due to modern techniques and technology. While at the same time, the standard and grace of teachers have fallen in modern times, and it is due to the teachers first, followed by the students. We have records of teachers beating students black and blue, aping and mocking them, and making fool of them. In our country, teachers are found to be engaged in scaring the mind of a child not by corporal punishment alone. Disparaging remarks as "you are good for nothing," "you are fool", "you are worthless" etc., can devastate a child's confidence.

First, look at the facts. Work ethics among teachers is at the lowest ebb. In India, teachers constitute the single largest group of educated and professionally qualified work. Their number has steadily increased from 538,000 (primary), 86,000 (upper primary) and 127,000 (higher secondary) in 1951 to 1896,000 (primary), 1326,000 (secondary) and 1761,000 (higher secondary) in 2001. As of September 2004, there were 3,680,000 teaches (primary and secondary). In 1991, teachers accounted for 11.8% percent of all government employees

A World Bank survey (2005) found that 25% of government primary school teachers in India are absent from work. While Jharkhand and Bihar top the list in absenteeism with 41.9% and 37.8% respectively, Gujarat and Maharashtra account for 17% and 14.6%. Only 50% of teachers are actually engaged in the act of teaching while at work, according to report. Sleeping in classroom, sending students to household works, and forcing them to fan while they sleep are normal practices that teachers are found to be engaged in classes in rural India.

Now look at the criminal records. In July 2007, a class XII student of Alok Senior Secondary School, Udaipur, died after being allegedly beaten black and blue with a rod by his teacher. In a gruesome incident on March 21, 2007, a teacher from Samad Fakeer Dhani government school in Faladi village of Jaisalmer district was arrested on charges of beating a 12-year-old student to death for not doing his homework. There are many more such stories on capital punishment. Even sexual harassment and elopement are also recorded. Students are no less far behind though less in severity. Murder of HS Sabharwal, a professor in Ujjain was the height of cruelty.

We all remember one or two teachers who have imprinted a lasting impact on our lives; we always point them out while discussing learning; and we revered them as they have taught us to be what we are in life. On this day, while we pledge to preserve the sanctity of teachers as Gurus, teachers also need to look at their responsibilities and attitude towards their students.

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