Class act? Not anymore

Teaching as a profession has come a long way from the time of the first gurukul held under a tree to Gen X's virtual classrooms. However, doubt still lingers in many minds on whether the quality of teaching has kept pace with technology to be on par with our rapidly evolving education system.

According to educationists, teaching as a profession is not being seriously encouraged by the government. This coupled with meagre wages, rare growth opportunities and zero recognition, the profession is hardly attracting anyone dedicated to the profession. "There is a huge demand for quality education in the country with most educational institutions queuing up for international certification. But a dearth of quality teachers is hampering the growth.

The reason we don't attract dedicated teachers is because the government does not want to loosen its purse-strings for the teaching fraternity," said Father Gregory Lobo, general secretary of Arch Diocesan Board of Education which manages over 110 schools in the city.

"The situation has worsened to such an extent that those who fail at other careers opt for teaching. Teachers have always been paid peanuts. Furthermore, the criteria, laid down by different education boards and departments during the appointment of teachers, act as hurdle for the schools vying for well-trained teachers," he explained.

Skewed ratio of teachers in primary, secondary sections
Another worrying fact among teachers is the skewed proportion of qualified primary teachers to secondary instructors.

Every year BEd colleges churn out more teachers than DEd. However, as per government rule, BEd qualified teachers cannot be appointed for instructing the primary section. This is one more reason why schools have been facing shortage of teachers in primary system affecting directly the base of the whole education system.

However, it is not the just the educationists who dread the deteriorating quality of teaching, but the parents seems to be the worried lot about the kind of education their wards are pursuing.

Manisha Karat, a parent from Dahisar, had a bad experience when her six-year-old son was admitted in the primary section of a neighbourhood school, "Most primary teachers are not qualified and have no idea how to handle the children. They do not make learning a fun activity. Right from class I, the stress is more on marks and percentage rather than developing creative skills. This hampered my son's creativity and the outgoing kid became quiet and withdrawn," she recollects.

Teaching techniques and coaching classes
Another parent, Aruna Chakravorty from Mulund, whose son is in a well-known ICSE school, felt that even though teaching techniques have improved, the dedication is missing.

"The profession is not lucrative enough to attract talented teachers. The syllabus today demands a more creative and interactive mode of teaching which is missing. Our education system also doesn't allow for any leeway for creativity. Furthermore, teachers encourage rote learning by students which is harmful," she said.

Others blame the disinterest in teaching on the mushrooming coaching classes. "I feel that coaching classes have played a big role in the deterioration of quality of teaching in schools.

I had a bad experience when my daughter complained to me that her French teacher did not take pains to explain to her, as she believed most students attend tuitions and need not take any extra efforts.

This has become a negative trend in today's education. Teachers also do not impart any value education. They teach for the sake of making the students competent for exams," felt Bibiana D'souza, former teacher and  parent, Nerul.

Teaching deteriorates in professional institutes
Even among India's most professional courses such as engineering, medical, management, the situation is not any different. It has been reported that today, many technical institutes face huge dearth of teachers, resulting in falling standards of education in higher and technical education.

Present statistics show that technical institutes across the state have as many as 375 vacant posts for the teaching faculty, whereas medical colleges have vacancies for 70 teachers. Students from these institutes complain about the bad quality of teaching by the existing teachers.

An engineering student from one of the state's well-known engineering colleges states, "With well-paid jobs offered to them by top-notch industries, students graduating from technical institutes do not opt for teaching posts."

For instance, jobs are abundant in the IT sector and a fresh graduate is offered a starting pay packet of Rs 25,000 while a reputed technical educational institute pays Rs 12,000."Students also complain about lack of research work in educational institutes. Institutes often recruit fresh graduates who lack teaching experiencing thereby damaging the quality of the course curriculum.

Most educational institutes imparting professional education are completely disconnected with the industry. Educationists believe that a plan should be in place for involving research and development for raising the standard of education in the entire country.