Teachers Industrial Action

 Last night a friend of mine sent me a video in which a girl was lambasting teachers’ industrial action seeking better pay.

These are my responses to it given in dot points.

·         I fully agree with her argument that this is not the right time to start something like that as the whole world is grappling with an epidemic situation,

·         Having said that, one has to agree that teachers are one of the poorest paid professions in the country,

·         However, this profession has now become a refuge for most incompetent people,

·         This profession needs much better pay scales to attract talented and competent talents and not the residual found in the society,

·         At the same time, introduction of a way to measure and assess their outputs periodically have to incorporate into the system,

·         Allow foreign talents into areas where the same can’t be found locally,

·         That would help to raise the bar high in the profession,

·         But, are we ready for such drastic changes?

·         No, purely because of fear of losing vote bases and networks,

·         At present, even the local universities do not have any foreign teaching staffs like in many other parts of the developed world,

·         Therefore, it is difficult to think of even of having such changes in the primary and secondary level education structures,

·         You do not have to have a manmade event like a protracted war or natural calamity to make any nation disappear from the face of the earth,

·         Poor health and education are just enough and that is what is happening in this country and many other poor countries around the world,

·         The haves and able will seek refuge elsewhere by voting with their feet and poor frogs in the well will perish sooner than they think,

·         Remember, there will be a different world beyond the range of mountains surrounded your village,

·         Muster enough courage first to climb the mountain and then only one would realize that the so-called “paradise” that they have been made to believe and living in for centuries is not really a paradise after all.

Written with malice towards none.

To Sir with Love ( My version ).

A few senior boys and their thugs stormed into the school during interval/recess time to beat up a classmate, when we were in grade 10.

We did not say nor do anything to avert but watched in shock as we did not know what to do.

The chemistry subject was the period immediately after the break and as the master entered the class, we knew that he was not in a mood to teach.

He was silent for some time and we waited for him to say something.

Then he asked all of us a very simple question.

"What kind of young men are you, watching your fellow student being beaten up by thugs on the school premises and doing nothing?"

There was no chemistry lesson that afternoon and some enjoyed the break but a few started pondering the incident seriously.

Having enjoyed success the previous day, the seniors and thugs revisited during the interval with the idea of bashing the poor fellow up a little more.

What happened thereafter is well known in the school history and that was the last time we had thugs visiting school or seniors flexing their muscles.

The chemistry master came to class grinning from ear to ear after the interval that day.

Recently, we had an old teacher’s felicitation ceremony but sadly he could not be invited for obvious reasons.

The value of unity and standing up against injustice were two lessons we learned from that great Chemistry master.

(May our old Chemistry master attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana).