Teachers Day - let's salute our mentors

Unesco theme revolves around overcoming teachers' shortage

By Salman Khan 

Days come and slip by but there are the ones that must be etched in the hearts and minds of people.

One such occasion is the “World Teachers Day” which is meant to pay tribute to the academics – the nation-builders in every sense of the word.

Unesco theme

Oct 5 marks this momentous day which underlines the importance of the 1996 ILO/Unesco recommendation concerning the status of the Higher Education Teaching Personnel. 

Unesco’s theme for the current year is: "The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage." 

National landscape 

That the character of a nation can be judged by how the powers-that-be and its people treat the teachers is amply illustrated in the theme. It is heart-breaking to see the grim national scene (in Pakistan) where the teachers face a plethora of problems and struggle throughout their careers for recognition and monetary and other benefits.

Let’s pay tribute to teachers 

The national situation aside, it’s a day to remember our teachers and pay homage to them. In keeping with the spirit of the day, let’s meet a teacher and try to understand the values they (teachers in general) hold dear. 

“The day owes its genesis to the need for recognising a teacher’s role as a mentor and nation-builder,” says Mr Ali Ahmad Navid, an educationist who has served a number of institutions in his distinguished career. 

A good teacher, he says, is responsible for the physical, mental, social, psychological and spiritual development of a student.

He stresses that students should be taught at an early age how to respect their teachers to overcome a “lack of relationship”. Whether a student’s problems are study-oriented or even personal, Mr Navid stresses, he should take his teacher into confidence so as to find a better answer.

“As for the parents, they should not instill into a child’s mind the fear of a teacher. It proves counterproductive in most cases,” he says.

Representing the school of thought that believes in a teacher’s “unshakable fidelity to education” and strong personal character, Mr Navid has a wealth of teaching experience in many institutions.

Starting off his career in the army as a civilian instructor, he taught the English language, science and mathematics at the Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur; the Crescent Model Higher Secondary School; the Pakistan International School, Riyadh (where he had been head of science department); and Ibne Sina College (O-levels), Defence. He had been the mathematics department coordinator in the last named institute.

Sharing his views on the Teachers Day, he deplores that inadequate investment on education and human capital (teachers) and non-implementation of policies have made a mess of affairs.

“We don’t have schools in proportion to the population - an indication of ill-planning and a lack of spending,” he says.

To the question of reforms and remedies, the star teacher says: “I personally believe that we have resources and fairly good syllabi. What we don’t have is a strong system, institutional strength and above all the will… the determination to nip the evils plaguing the education sector.”

He is all for a uniform education system discouraging class-based disparities.

He also underscores the need to have more schools, recruitment of competent teachers, staff development, higher budgetary allocations and other incentives, and a system of surveillance by mobile teams.

There should be no half measures when it comes to education, generous investment on the teachers and acknowledgement of their services to the nation, advises Mr Navid who had been a role-model for the teachers and the taught.

If there’s to be something like the World Teachers Day, in his words, it should be taken as an occasion for renewal of the pledge to devote one’s life to a noble cause. The message is for the teachers, the students and those in the power corridors, he maintains.

Although advancing in age and having eyesight problem, he pledges to put in the best possible efforts to instruct the pupils. Despite devoting the better part of his life to education, he is not enjoying a gracious living though he is contended to the core.

The country has produced academics of high intellectual stature; Prof A.S. Bokhari, Prof Sayyid Saadat Ali Shah, Prof Siraj-ud-din, Dr A.H. Khayal, Prof Razi Abedi and Prof Ghulam Sarwar Qureshi are to name a few. All these were examples of eminent personages who won the country plaudits in the domain of education.

The names of teachers like Mr Ali Ahmad Navid deserve to be included in any distinguished list. The nations which respect their ‘architects’ such as these stand on solid foundation and overcome any crisis by dint of grit and resolution.

Let’s recognise the role a teacher plays in society and give him or her a standing ovation.