On every September 5, we celebrate Teacher’s Day in commemoration of India’s first President who was a great philosopher too. Students love and respect their teachers and look forward to the annual Teacher’s Day celebrations. Adults fondly remember their own teachers who enlightened their minds not merely with text-book knowledge but with their personal integrity and selflessness. However, an unpleasant surprise was sprung on us by the government wanting to celebrate Teacher’s Day as ‘Guru Utsav’ and telecast PM N. Modi’s speech to all students across India when their role models are the principal, headmaster and teachers.
Fortunately the average students across India are not even aware of this move and are just happy to celebrate Teacher’s Day with skits, dramas, fancy dress competitions prepared in advance for their class teachers and principal. The atmosphere in school is joyous and there are no classes and students enter the school without their back-straining heavy bags. All they bring are flowers for their teachers, charts and costumes for the concerts and games that follow. You realize the significance and nostalgia of Teacher’s Day once out of school and college when you know that you are no longer a care-free kid but an adult with responsibilities to succeed in life. Fortunately, the lessons of determination and hard-work that you learned in school from your teachers, is tested when you are out in the world. There is no doubt that the teachers of yesteryear are a different class altogether for whom teaching was a calling or vocation not a career determined by remuneration. In fact they were poorly paid yet it didn’t matter to them; they gave of their best to each student rich or poor. Also, they knew their subject thoroughly with no remedial classes for succour. They were strict with their students and that brought out the best in their wards. Can the same be said of today’s teachers in an era of overcrowded class-rooms, mobiles, pocket money, bikes and what not.
The need of the hour is to make quality and not quantity the hallmark of schools. Teachers must be more attuned to the needs of their students and you cannot have overcrowded classes because neither can the teachers teach well nor can the students learn well.
On Teacher’s Day, every school management must pledge to concertedly work for the betterment of their little wards today who will be the builders of our nation tomorrow.
