Give Teachers Their Due

Teaching is the highest form of understanding”, said Aristotle. It is well known fact that teaching is one of the pure professions that human beings are being indulged in. But In Nepal, teaching profession has been disliked and not so encouraged by the teachers themselves so far I got; through the teachers who teach me in my university and through the teachers with whom I am teaching in my school.

They dislike not in the sense of simply hating the profession and not being fed up with the regular juggling routines but with the scope, difficulties and the low figure of income. They shared with me what shall we gain by working from 6 am in the morning to 7 in the evening. I also thought that teaching has not given us justifiable wages in comparing with other jobs.

Some of them give me suggestion to go abroad after my Masters, some of them beseech me to change the teaching profession to projects in INGOs although there is a small part of people who opine of continuing the profession just for livelihood. Teachers are not well paid here in Nepal and they have to change their profession, which may be one of the reasons of lack of skilled teachers. One of the teachers shared, “Sir, you joined teaching profession so early I am sure you will be fed up by my age”.

I thought deep and tried to know his sense of statement. He meant it’s hard to earn and save a little by teaching. Next teacher of college in a tete-a tete shared me,” Sir, my wife is a computer technician, she earns 25 thousand working few hours in a day but for me it’s quite difficult even though I teach from early morning to late evening in many colleges.” I felt extreme pity and mercy for him since he was speaking the dreary truth. He suggested me to go abroad after my higher studies.
As I have already destined myself to spend my life teaching and so have been studying humanities, I am in a dilemma and in a certain state of panic whether I can lead a qualitative life through teaching or not.
I was in grief when someone (teacher) told me that the full time teaching Reader in a University gets salary within 20,000. If the reader gets that sum what may be the fate of temporary lecturers who get few periods only to teach and the market tags are skyrocketing.

The foreign donation and grants also come in government colleges. In private colleges and school, more than sufficient fee is grabbed from the students but still why poor teachers are not paid well? If the teachers are not satisfied then what education do we aspire? Let’s not make teachers frustrated instead let’s seek solutions to solve their demands that are legal.
The founders should be teacher friendly and end the very deadlock. In case of governmental colleges, the government should increase the salary in ratio with the market values and the educational institutions should be free from party politics. Aristotle himself had said, “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well.
(published in THE NEW PAPER)