Teachers feel lost in classroom

Come September 5, the teaching fraternity is all set to celebrate Teacher’s Day. But for teachers in Bangalore, it is not celebration time. They are a disgruntled lot as they feel their powers have been clipped because of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which does not specify the exact role of a teacher.

“Teachers have almost become handicapped because of the Act. They cannot take action against children who bully their classmates, nor can they be strict with children, who are constantly neglecting their studies. The Act has not mentioned anything about bringing discipline in the classroom,” lamented Dinakar Wilson, principal of Baldwin Boys High School.

Wilson went on to say that neither he as a teacher, nor his school support any sort of corporal punishment.

“Corporal punishment has been banned in our school. However, the Act is completely silent as to how discipline can be brought about in a classroom,” said Wilson.

Echoing Wilson’s concern, Archana Vishwanath, principal of Jain Heritage School, said teachers need the right to bring discipline in the classroom.

“We are against corporal punishment. Cane is not the solution to bring reform among erring students. The role of a teacher has changed over the years. A teacher is a mentor and friend and plays an important role in the life of students. So, teachers need to be empowered,” she says.

The Act says that students can be admitted up to 8th standard, appropriate to their age till December 31st and it’s the responsibility of the teacher to conduct bridge courses and take up remedial measures in order to help them reach their learning levels. This puts the teachers under tremendous stress and forcing many to shift their careers.

“Teachers should be engaged in teaching and mentoring children and extra work might be counter-productive for them,” said a teacher of a prominent private school who did not wish to be named.

“With the Act clearly stating that teachers should not question or punish the students in the name of disciplining them, the role of the teacher becomes completely insignificant. This would put us under tremendous pressure to control the classroom environment. Classrooms would become free-for-all with students calling the shots and discipline thrown to the winds,” the teacher added.

“In today’s world, the role of a teacher has shifted from being a monitor to that of a mentor. A mentor seeks to promote an atmosphere of trust, support and encouragement. A teacher is a peer willing to share and learn in the process,” Chitra Sharma, vice-principal of Delhi Public School (DPS), South, told DNA.

“The current wave of educational reform is clearly focused on improving student learning and teachers are the critical link between reforms and students. It’s high time that teachers are given due respect and power,” added Sharma.

Manjula Raman, principal of Army Public School said teachers need to be highly sensitive in order to deal with heterogeneous group of children as the RTE Act makes it mandatory for 25% reservation for underprivileged children in schools.

“Teachers have to be doubly cautious about their role now. They have to be more responsible and sensitive. A teacher needs to be dynamic. Teachers need constant training and counselling to understand their changing role and responsibilities,” Raman added.