Value teachers’ voices

India must prioritise teacher training and welfare to improve the quality of education.

India observes Teacher’s Day on September 5 to pay homage to its teachers on the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of India and an eminent philosopher-teacher. Started in 1962, this day was initially meant to recognise and celebrate the teaching community once a year. However, the earlier fervour seems to be missing now, possibly due to official apathy.

World Teachers’ Day, started in 1994 and observed on October 5, aims to honour the teaching profession and elevate its status. But are these observances mere rituals or genuine attempts to value teachers and their voices? If teachers were truly valued and heard, the world would be a better place.

In the past, teachers used the chalk and talk method without the aid of any paraphernalia that we see today. There was no audio-visual support, computers, or Internet. Yet, some teachers were known as walking encyclopedias. Today, even encyclopaedias are becoming outdated rapidly due to the knowledge explosion that reaches
the younger generation faster through technology. Youngsters are digital natives, while teachers are at best digital migrants.

In this scenario, teachers need to learn, unlearn, and relearn some lessons. To stay relevant and effective, they must undergo systematic capacity-building training programmes. This will enable them to equip themselves with working knowledge of technology and new methods of teaching. Any teacher who shies away from such initiatives will be left behind and swept away by the tides of change.

The upskilling of teachers has to be two-fold: in the subject or content they teach and in the way they transfer this content to students.

Teachers of the traditional mould, even the best of them, have an intimate knowledge of their subject as it was when they started their careers. The average and below average teachers can be found repeating themselves ad nauseam. Teachers themselves are likely to have lost the excitement of teaching the subject, not to speak of creating any excitement in the students. Excitement in teaching comes only when there is an element of discovery. It wears off with the passage of time and mechanical repetition.

An oft-quoted dictum goes thus: The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, and the great teacher inspires.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has been warning about the dismal state of school education in many parts of the world. For instance, there is a dearth of teachers in most rural areas in India and the African continent. The problem has two dimensions: a shortage of teachers and poor quality teachers. In India, there are many single-teacher schools. How can a single teacher run a school with several classes? They are more an apology for schools than real schools.

Schools with teachers of poor quality are no better than schools with no teachers or a single teacher. Governments, national and state, are both responsible for education. They need to find resources and effective implementation strategies. It would be a pathetic situation if both of these are not provided in adequate measure. Education will not be effective without efficient planning and adequate financial and human resources. To quote Bob Talbert, ‘Good teachers are costly, but bad teachers cost more.’

Sustained training programmes for teachers should be one of the topmost priorities of those in charge of schools. Keeping teachers in trim intellectual condition is a precondition for the success of schools. Every school should have an ecosystem that is intellectually stimulating and socially vibrant, harmonious, and peaceful.

The second concern voiced by UNESCO is about the working conditions of teachers, especially their salaries and perquisites. Teacher shortages and declining working conditions are interrelated. UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have together recommended various measures to upgrade the status and working conditions of teachers the world over. World Teachers’ Day is one such attempt to focus on “appreciating, assessing, and improving the educators of the world.”

The document reaffirms that “education remains the centrepiece of global and national efforts to achieve sustainable development, protect human rights, and sustain peace”.

India enacted the Right to Education Act, making education a fundamental right. Often described as revolutionary, the law would be more meaningful if it implies good schools and qualified teachers. In 2018, UNESCO adopted the theme “Right to Education includes the Right to Qualified Teachers,” commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Good teachers alone can make good schools.

(The writer is Director, Little Rock Group of Institutions, Udupi)