Why can't we be teachers?

Submitted by souravroy on

Its exam time and all we can think about is books, notes and coffee. On this context, as a self realization (which every student goes through during exams), I must say that the most discussed topic among hostelites is the inferior quality of education and the teachers who literally don't know to teach. My country has the oldest custom of education I desperately want to prove them wrong. I must say, if given a chance (and paycheck) would love to take up teaching as a profession. I teach my room mate and I believe I'm pretty good at it. Right through my childhood, exam season has been the time when I get the opportunity to demonstrate my skills as a teacher. I have always believed that a teacher-student relationship is THE most beautiful relationship in the world.

If teaching can be so fascinating, why then, do we have a shortage of good teachers in our country? Forget about other institutions, IITs are running with a 50% shortage of staffs. Most teachers there have retired, yet have been asked to stay back on special requests. Its good to know that IIMs have taken a step forward by inspiring their alumni to stay back and teach, but the outcome is not at par with what is expected, in terms of quantity, ofcourse. There is a big halla over how much the country lacks educational institutions. We don't lack educational institutions. We lack teachers. Bring in good teachers and entrepreneurs are more than happy to invest. But unfortunately, we don't have quality teachers. Why is it so?? The answer is simple- Why will a skilled conversationalist, unless highly inspired by his personal motivation, prefer to teach with a salary less than that of a good-for-nothing-software-professional! A software engineer with an experience of 3-5 years, at an average earns more than a Head of Department in IIT with a lifelong experience. What a shame!

Who is to blame? The universal spit-basin - the government? 'Cause every time we see a problem, we blame it to the bade bhaiyyas. Yes, indeed the government is to blame. The first step that can be taken is inspire skilled alumni to stay back in an institution and teach. Secondly, paycheck of a teacher should be at par with that of IT professionals. But most importantly, the youth must realize that teaching is an amazing profession. Job security, learning with teaching, plenty of time for recreation and a stable life- all in one place. This is one place where you get to prove yourself. I'd love to take it up as a profession, given a chance, (and a good paycheck, ofcourse) and I'd love to see the youth of my generation join in.

Comments

Submitted by Jayesh on Wed, 30-Dec-2009 - 11:09

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AIIMS faculty wages revised on a par with IIT, IIM NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Tuesday decided to raise the salaries of the faculty of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and four other medical institutes of excellence, and bring them at par with what is offered in the Indian Institutes of Technology and the Indian Institutes of Management. Doctors-cum-teachers at the AIIMS, Delhi; the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh; the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry; the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore; and the Northeastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Shillong, will benefit from the parity of pay scales with the IITs and IIMs http://www.hindu.com/2009/12/30/stories/2009123059161000.htm

Submitted by rajat on Wed, 30-Dec-2009 - 11:57

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It's good to learn that our generation is getting interested in teaching. This is the only way that education can improve in the country. Talented young people, who have keen interest in teaching should surely go ahead. However I am not sure if equating a software job with teaching is the best thing to be done. An untamed mind which has no clarity of what the two job profiles have to offer is surely vulnerable to the lucrative offers that the corporate has. But this is surely not true for a person who has the slightest of clue to what education holds for him/her. I do not remember seeing any lecturer who I admire from the bottom of my heart being hooked on to his job for the sake of money. In fact I could go on to tell tales of teachers who have opted for a simple lifestyle and refused lucrative offerings. A lot of entrepreneurial intervention and the comparisons of pay checks seem scary to me. believe me, you don't want teachers who have the motivation equating that of a software engineer in colleges! Education is a different ball game! Talking about salaries, while numeric comparison of the salary of a good teacher in IITs done with his students may sound unfair, the picture is not complete! Every good institution in our nation and abroad is involved in research projects and assignments which bring in a lot of opportunity and reward from the industry for the academicians. Consultation while on job is also a major revenue source for many academicians. I may be getting things wrong and might actually be offending some teachers who are suffering due to the imbalance Sourav points to here. My apologies to you. The intent here is to point out that the material that Good teachers are made of has never in history and never will be giving great importance to competitive salary and competitive lifestyle. Ignited minds, should not and will not wait for the world to make way for them. They will do what they love to do. And when this task is teaching - they will teach! No matter what the package is. As far as blaming the teachers in college is concerned - I wish we group up to realise that we have come to college. We are out of school! The tendency to expect the teacher to teach it all, is by and large, unreasonable and too kiddish! Show me a student keen on learning and not finding some good teachers to help him/her. If people are waiting for spoons to come into their mouth with food, you get what you deserve!

Submitted by rajat on Fri, 01-Jan-2010 - 08:10

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MUMBAI: They are regarded globally as centres of excellence and considered to be India's ticket to making it big in the industrial and entrepreneurial world. So it is shocking that the nine centrally funded technical institutions (collectively called CFTIs), which include the prestigious IITs and IIMs, are currently short of more than 3,000 faculty members or about one-third of the sanctioned strength. The statistics, sourced from the Union HRD ministry, point to a rather grim situation. For instance, one-third of the teaching posts at the IITs and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) are lying vacant. The premier Indian Institute of Science (IISc) at Bangalore does not have even half the teachers it needs; ditto for the three Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs). In fact, all the CFTIs—whether it is the lone Indian School of Mines (ISM) at Dhanbad or the NITs dotted across the country—are currently functioning without the requisite number of teachers. Read more at : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/1-in-3-professor-posts-in-IITs…