The recent clash of egos between the director of education and the self styled president of teachers' forum once again brought the education department at the centre stage in the public discourse. This time it's interesting as well as an alarming because the current standoff deals with the alleged dubious degrees of ReT teachers and the sanctity of their sacred profession. The president of teachers' forum in a public spat used objectionable language against the newly appointed director of education. Has it now become a mere clash of egos where strong bureaucracy and the leaders of teachers' forum are battling for the absolute power?
Is it only random transfers and postings that followed after the public spat panacea of all diseases in which the department is caught up? Nobody is against the government order that the certificates obtained by the ReT's teachers should be scrutinized but conducting exams of in-service teachers who are in department from the past more than ten years is harsh and sheer case of injustice.
It's the same arrogant bureaucracy and the feudal mindset of teachers' president that is proving to be detrimental for the lower middle class students who suffer as they continue to study in cowsheds, under the shadowy trees, in dingy classrooms reading the outdated syllabus. In the past there has never been any serious attempt on the part of successive governments and the concerned department to focus on the grave issues which destroyed the working ethics as well as the standard of quality education in the state. It would have been a welcome step from the director of education to start his campaign of reforms by focusing on the fundamental issues related to the elementary school education. But by making screening test compulsory for every ReT teacher who obtained their degrees from outside study centers or through distance mode after the High Court order issued on May 14 was a hasty decision that jeopardized the whole process of change. There are other court orders as well pending but unfortunately they were never taken seriously and implemented by the people in power.
We were expecting historical steps from the newly appointed director of education department so that we can restore its past glory when the education was holy mission and the teachers were most respected people. Unfortunately, as the times passes, the director is besieging himself in the political gimmicks of a ruling party which will certainly make things from bad to worse. We know at the end of this saga these union leaders turn out to be the darlings of the same bureaucracy after all this tirade against each other. It's the poor ReT teacher who will suffer at the end of clash. Because according to the court order he has to prove his academic worth on a single sheet of paper. If he fails, he'll be shown the door no matter how long he has served in the department. The single case of inefficiency and incompetency of a teacher should not be taken as a lawsuit against the entire teaching community. Yes there are black sheep but they exist everywhere in the state institutions and it's the duty of state government to take action against all, whether they are teachers, doctors, engineers or any other employee.
In contrast to it the employees like daily wagers, ad-hocs, ReT teachers are stigmatized, ostracized, harassed and disgraced by orders and in police actions but those who are involved in the menace of rampant corruption, nepotism, red-tapism and favoritism continue to rule. The transfer of an employee is an administrative issue and the employee should follow the directions in letter and spirit rather than outsourcing their right to a persona non grata. On his single call teachers without any questioning waste no time to hit the roads and protest till the men in kahki unleash disproportionate brute force against them.
It's not only the case of less educated ReT teachers who are caught up in the vortex of court orders; we have a bumper crop of doctors, engineers who not only have obtained dubious degrees abroad but are involved in the illegal acts and even became the cause of deaths. No court or government officials took any suo motu action taken against them. Hundreds of babies died in the state children hospital but still nobody was found guilty by the so called inquiry commissions. The negligence of doctors and hospital administration proved the worst hospital horror in the state history but were never asked to prove their worth on single sheet of paper. Then why every time the axe falls on the poor employees and ReT teachers? Nobody should be spared if he or she is found inefficient and incompetent but the law should be equal for all.
Education department has always been one of the premier organs of the state machinery but in case of Jammu and Kashmir, it has become an agitation department. Who is responsible for it - teachers or the successive heads of department who, except ribbon cutting ceremonies and having Wazwan in the private schools, do nothing? Teachers on the other hand are caught up in syndrome of promotion and perks without any substantial academic achievements. We know the process of government teaching job in Jammu and Kashmir is so challenging and exhausting. You need to grey your hair in perusing all the prescribed degrees no matter whether you are an expert in your subject or not.
When we have such a traditional educational system and discriminative bureaucracy, we should not expect quality education. The current problem is a result of people at the helm of affairs, who treat teachers as inferior creatures. History is testimony to the fact that the powerful nations have asserted their dominance only through educational developments and by respecting their teachers. They consider them as foot soldiers and arm them with new skills, infrastructure and modern methods of education. The teachers also need to pull up their socks and come out of the fantasy world so as to protect and preserve their respect in the society by not indulging in cheap unionism.
(Mir Liyakat Nazir has a PhD in Resistance Literature from University of Pune)
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