On the outset I would like to call myself as a teacher rather than a Principal, academician, educator, educationist or anything else. I am convinced that a teacher is closer to the student, more responsible, accountable and approachable. A school is a place for the young students and the centre point in a school is the student. All the possible resources should be optimized to help groom the inmates to perform to their potentials. A teacher's role is primarily manifested when he transforms himself to be a guide, friend and philosopher. His main duty is to impart into the student the right concept of life and positive approach in his day to day life. Training a student to be a good citizen is more essential in the context of today's world than helping him to score better percentage in his academics. Hence one has to blend all aspects of practical requirements to create an all round development in a student.
I have got an experience of more than 35 years in English Medium schools across
the country. My most career was in CBSE schools. I have climbed up the steps right from the bottom. I started my career as a primary teacher. Hence I can understand students from the tender age of 5 to a
grown up level. The exposure has been from certain remote hamlets in Jharkhand,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, M.P. to a big city as Chennai. Whatever be the background of the
students, the nucleus of the child psychology is the same.
All along my path, I have realized and got the strong conviction that value
education is the only way to lead the country to the path of progress. The
classroom cannot be confined to teaching the children the three R's. It
is the right platform to train them for the real world ahead of them. Hence
modern method of education is a must in a school.
Everyone knows the importance of the role of a teacher in the life of any student. But it is unfortunate that all are reluctant to give due credit to a teacher. The bitter truth is that the last point that concerns a parent before admitting the child into a school is the teacher teaching his child. The fact is that the child is ultimately handled by the teacher, not the management, principal or the advertising agencies. No one cares about the quality teachers in a school. The education board and the government have chalked out rules in paper that the teachers should be paid at par with any government scale of pay. But everyone knows well that teachers in a private school is paid a paltry sum of amount. When objecting to a teacher earning out of tuitions, everyone joins hands to decry, but no forum bothers about the minimum salary that is paid to a teacher. At times a teacher is paid less than what an unskilled labour is offered.
While all the state run schools in India pay well to their teachers, it is paradoxical to note that most schools are vernacular medium but the parents feel that English Medium education is the best for their children. So they approach private schools which boast of the infrastructure and the quality. But the saddest part of it is the plight of the teachers. The best solution is that the parent should enquire about the salary that the school pays to its teachers before finding about the infrastructure provided by the school.
