What did they actually want to assess?

This is an open letter to Chairman JKPSC and was published by the dialy Rising Kashmir. I am not trying to be a typical egotist in writing all this to you but the aim is to be faithful to one’s society and self and relate objectively what I ( and may be many others) have felt in the so called INTERVIEW PROCESS. Yes! I am referring to the interview process that was adopted for the selection of lecturers in English in Secondary Education Department for Kashmir division candidates. My interview was on the 26th Feb, 08; the last day scheduled for the job. And this is what happened:When I entered the hall, around 12:45 pm, I found three persons there: one in the central chair, other going to the bathroom that was attached to the room. I was asked to sit with my back to the third one who was busy doing some paper work. The man in the centre started with my percentage and added why I have secured less than most of the girl students. I had no answer except blaming the newly installed semester system of the university. Then he asked,” Where do you live?” “Islamabad” I said, and he started asking why it is named so and what are the famous tourist sports there and why I haven’t yet visited certain places. “What do you do”, He changed the topic and I was relaxed, expecting something reasonable. “M.Phil. from CIEFL, Hyderabad in Literary theory and Psychology: using the knowledge of personality types from psychology, we are trying to see what kind of personalities emerged in different literary movements of Twentieth century.”He immediately asked the man coming out of the bathroom who was wiping his hands with a towel to take care of me. “Oh! You are from CIEFL, I am also from the same place and now I am a member of a committee there, a great place, modeled on Oxford University, who is your guide,” asekd the new entrant. I answered all. He asked about my research ‘problem’ and I repeated the above sentence. And he ended the discussion. “Your being a CIEFLian attests to your abilities, you should try for higher education: college or university. Best of luck, you can go.” When I came out of the room all the enthusiasm and fervor associated with the day was over and I was wonder struck how on the basis of this they are going to assess my abilities and decide my fate. Mine was not a special case, there were others who where asked more casual and prosaic question than this. In some cases even the subject expert was not present. Sir, we all know (as it has been the norm in the recent past) that interview carries half the marks and it is precisely on this basis that it will be decided if an applicant is in or out. But I am afraid what happened in the process was and is not adequate for assessing the required abilities and qualities that go into the making of a really good teacher unless, the people there have some supernatural and magical powers. On the face of it, it is ridiculous; seems mockery of the process but then may be there is a method involved in it which is not apparent to us and which you alone know. I hope this is something that you would certainly take seriously and reflect upon and if need be, take an immediate action, for there are fates of the people involved in this who have been waiting for this from last five, six years and don’t have any thing else to cling to. I am extremely sorry if in my frankness I have offended you.

Death of the Teacher

Among the greatest of all services that can be rendered by men to civilization is the education and training of children so that they can shine like pearls and can add beauty to human civilization. Henry Von Dyke has said about teachers and teaching; “Ah! There you have the worst paid and the best rewarded of vocations. Do not enter it unless you love it. For the vast majority of men and women it has no promise of wealth and fame, but they to whom it is dear for its own sake are among the nobility of mankind. I sing the praise of the unknown teacher, king of himself and leader of the mankind.” This is a philosophical way of looking at the profession of teaching. Being a teacher in itself means something noble, someone endowed with exceptional faculties of heart and head, committed to the cause that he serves and capable of infinite growth and love. We have not failed as teachers, we have failed to produce them, and this is our predicament. As a rule, every educated man is a man of values. It does not mean that every literate is. We see a dichotomy prevalent in our society. We have outstanding doctors produced by prime national institutes who take away the kidneys of their patients without even telling them; brilliant engineers form the proud institutes whose bridges collapse as soon as their bills are passed; accountants whose intelligent manipulations drain out millions from the public purse; our respected civil servants are truly functioning as unquestioned emperors; politicians promise sky but do not even deliver roof. All of them have received perhaps the best education and are trained in the best institutions. This professional dishonesty is horrifying, and who is to be blamed for this. The institutes that produce them, or the teachers who teach team? Teacher is not a mere source of information, a mere transmitter: today there are books, the audio visual aids and internet services that provide bundles of information to those who need it. Thus teacher's role as the source of information is marginalized. The teacher is more important and relevant today as he has been through ages for his role in transmitting and strengthening value system. The society is becoming more materialistic and values appear to be fast vanishing. There is nothing unusual about it. Each era throws up a role model and the whole society tries to emulate this model. Vedic society produced ‘Reshi’ as model, replaced in medieval society by ‘Warrior’, and in the post independence India this was replaced by ‘Richman’. The notion of ‘Rich’ became so important that all the value systems were subordinate to it. Every one in the society is aspiring to become rich, as much as possible, and as quickly as possible. Getting rich at any cost has become the ultimate motto. Invariably this process of getting rich overnight is always at the cost of values. Our teachers are part of the same game, emulating their cherished model rather than becoming one; and their in lies the death of the teacher. All the education, rather information, they provide is aimed at making personal gains. Education to them has become a tool for personal prosperity even at the cost of others’ happiness. This is manifest in the mushrooming of coaching centers, private schools, tuition centres etc.This attitude towards the profession of teaching is inflicting serious cuts on the system of education. However, all this is not beyond cure. It can be cured. The situation would not remain like this forever. There are enough indications that our nation would awaken once again to those eternal values for which this land has stood for many centuries. We are in a transition period, during which essential values start getting strengthened and at an appropriate time appear again. Only an ideal teacher whose life reflects values can lead a society in the right direction. He has to demonstrate the essential values such as optimism, motivation, willingness to learn and teach, truth, peace, never to speak and think ill of others; creativity and ability to overcome difficult times. But the question is shall our teachers wake up and rise to the occasion. Will they come forward and contribute to the intellectual growth of the nation. A Teacher must realise that he is not a mere transmitters of knowledge; an audio cassette or a CD. He creates right conditions for the student to find his own way, allowing the growth of the student into a complete individual. Unless we change our students into complete human beings, coming out of the morass that we are in, is not possible. This is the challenge of the times.