What is the value of these teachers? Role Models?
Mayborn G. Lyngdoh
In the wake of the 21st Century, teaching has become both easy and challenging. The advancement of science and technology has placed the knowledge of the world at our fingertips. Knowledge need not be searched for any longer, and with it, the yearning and thirst for it have also subsided. However, we must not be deceived; the world is getting more competitive every passing day, and there are more students attending schools, colleges and universities every year. Educational Institutions are producing more students now than ever before, but we cannot deny the harsh truth that the quality of the students is on the decline.
Mobile phones, social media, and the internet have stolen the innocence of the innocent and replaced dedication with distraction. In such a scenario, the role the teachers play is of prime importance. The students’ interest in how to perceive life is magnified by the role the teachers play in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Students often observe their teachers from close range. They look up to their teachers for motivation. Motivation is an internal state that propels individuals to engage in goal-directed behaviour.
Motivating students is a multifaceted endeavour that requires a blend of inspiration, encouragement, and practical strategies. At the heart of it lies the recognition that every student is unique, with their own set of interests, aspirations, and challenges. As educators, our task is to ignite the spark of curiosity within each student, to cultivate a thirst for knowledge that transcends the confines of the classroom. This begins by fostering a supportive and inclusive learning environment where students feel valued, respected, and empowered to take ownership of their learning journey. It involves tapping into their passions and interests, helping them see the relevance and real-world applications of what they’re learning.
Therefore, to be able to motivate, a teacher must create a comfortable learning atmosphere for learning. A patient and empathetic demeanour helps foster trust and understanding. Adaptability allows teachers to tailor their approach to different learning styles, while a sense of humour can make a lesson more engaging and memorable. A teacher’s personality and grooming habits influence not just what the students learn, but how they feel towards learning.
Ergo, ultimately, motivating students is not just about imparting knowledge, but about nurturing a love of learning that will stay with them long after they leave the classroom. It’s about inspiring them to become lifelong learners, curious explorers, and engaged citizens who are empowered to make a positive impact on the world. And while the journey may be challenging at times, the rewards are immeasurable for both students and educators alike.
To inspire, a teacher must first be inspired and motivated. The grim reality of the question remains, “How can teachers be motivators when they, themselves, are clinging to the bare minimum?” Teaching has become a very degrading profession with no growth. We see growth in the extension of the classrooms, the increase in the enrolment, increase in tuition-fees, increase in the number of sections, piled up workload year after year including the filling of the UDISE forms, increase in the professional tax and the long list of pending salaries piles up the frustration of the teachers. The salary of the teachers remaining stagnant for years strips away the justice from their expertise in an inflationary economy. They become victims of the law of diminishing returns. As they invest more years, their value decreases until it becomes zero when they retire with no pensions, no Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and no Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity (DCRG).
Private Teachers:
In most cases, private school teachers are never regularised despite serving for more than three years in a particular school. They are given contracts that are renewed every year. In such a scenario, the teachers are cramped into a situation of indecisiveness with the pendulum of fear of termination. Year by year, their service to the school continues with the hope of regularisation, to feel secure and to have a chance to be part of the school’s pay scale. Some teachers invest their entire youth and middle age towards the school, but were never regularised even till the last day of their teaching life.
Adhoc Teachers:
These are another set of teachers who enjoy a plight the private teachers as they enjoy the increment and enhancement based on the whims and fancies of the Government. The last enhancement the teachers got was in the year 2022 after the three-month-long protest, and in July 2022, their first enhancement in six years (since 2016) came with Rs. 6000 for the Lower Primary and the Upper Primary and Rs. 9000 for the secondary and Higher Secondary Section.
Considering the Adhoc teachers fall under the grant-in-aid just like the deficit teachers, they do not enjoy the benefits of a pay scale like the deficit teachers.
In the worst-case scenario, the Adhoc teachers do not also enjoy the full benefits of their salaries. Despite the meagre salary, they still have to share it with the other teachers at the school. This can be understandable in some mission schools where the school fees in less than Rs. 100 per month. However, in other schools where the enrolment is high and the school fees are above Rs. 600 per month, the deduction of the pay is unjustified. These teachers are under the watchful eye of the School’s Management.
SSA Teachers:
The plight of the SSA teachers is also the same as the Ad hoc teachers, but their case is a little different to discuss as the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a Scheme that is being funded predominantly by the central Government and partially by the State Government. It is only in recent years that the SSA teacher have started to enjoy direct transfer of salary to their bank accounts. In years prior, the salary was directly controlled by the management, and in some rural parts of the state, some teachers had to sign an agreement to part with a part of their salary to the school.
Additional Teachers and Contractual Teachers:
Then there are the Additional teachers who are employed on a contractual basis in different Government schools and Colleges with 59 days of renewal contracts. They do the exact same task as the full-fledged teachers but are sometimes paid only 10%-15% of the salary that the full-fledged teachers enjoy. The Contractual teachers are linked to the LP, UP, Secondary and Higher Secondary sections; they are paid better than the Additional Teachers but cannot be in the same league as the full-fledged teachers.
The five categories of teachers – Private teachers, Adhoc teachers, SSA teachers, Additional Teachers and Contractual teachers are placed in the same dilemma of existential crisis. While trying to be better and loyal in service and dedication, they outgrow their years. Time takes away a lot of the teacher’s time. Their care towards building the character, intellect and shaping the students to be ready for the world makes them lose track of their own time. Time becomes crueller on them when they can no longer apply for a job anywhere else. Their voices are daubed. A dark cloud overshadows the once brightest smiles. The cheerful “Good Morning, students” becomes softer and habitual out of habit, not excitement.
These teachers who have served with purpose, left out purposeless, now have a family to look after, dependent children. The once young and energetic are now timid and scared. All of their vigour was drowned. Their love turns into a daily routine – the completion of the syllabus becomes mechanical. Delays in salaries have become a monthly affair. They teach on debit, but live on credit. A question often tortures them, “Where will I be? Where will my children be?”
The Government of Meghalaya must come up with better policies. When students do well, they are rewarded, but the teachers are neglected. The Chief Minister’s Special Development Fund (CM-SDF) has helped aid the schools with School Buses, Computer labs, Smart Classrooms and the like, but little have they done for the above-mentioned teachers. The Education Commission also fails to harness the teachers from these categories to add value with insights we are facing and provide them with solutions that we know. Provincialisation is the only way forward, and it’s not a herculean task if only our voice can reach the ears and mind of the MDA Government.
In conclusion, to echo, motivating students is a multifaceted endeavour that requires a blend of inspiration, encouragement, and practical strategies. Motivating a teacher comes with a pay scale that is promising and unbiased, with increments and enhancements based on performance to secure the future. The murmuring sound in the air spews venom about how education has degraded over the years, but do we pay attention to why good teachers leave the profession? Since education is now a corporate sector by nature, excluding the mission schools and the village schools, the increase in the school fees must also be taken into consideration while addressing the pay of the teachers. Regularisation of the post and a contingency fund equivalent to three months under the Meghalaya School Education Act, 1981, to aid the teachers when there is a delay in allotment of salary by the Government, must be strictly followed. A grievance cell for the teachers must be made, and the District School Education officer to ensure that the schools in the districts run by the rulebook. The teachers must also be allowed to feel secure as years of their service pass one after another. To have served decades and a lifetime only to return home when one’s time is done, emaciated and defeated, is the biggest crime inflicted upon the teachers for years. If this does not stop now, when will? it has to stop!