‘Anyone Can Teach’ is a Common View in India. But is it True?
Krishna Kumar | 06 September 2024 | The Indian Express
There is no standard operating procedure for reforming education. Every country tries it in its own way. One can’t think of a country where radical changes happened amidst widespread resentment and melancholia among teachers. Melancholia is the right term to describe the psychological state wherein both anger and cynicism have proved insufficient for achieving mental peace. Why teachers are not involved in choosing the changes they are supposed to implement is just a one mark question. Everyone can guess the correct answer — that teachers are not trusted in our system. They are perceived as culprits. It is no easy task to show that they are, in fact, victims.
“Anyone can teach”, is a common view. Earlier this year, Bihar decided to use retired policemen as teachers. I am sure they brought in hard discipline among children. That’s what our schools lack, many believe, and hold teachers responsible. Many others feel that teachers don’t want to work, so they don’t deserve the salary they get. This line of thought has led to popular endorsement of the low-pay policy that the vast majority of private schools follow. And then there is the view that teachers form an obstacle to reforms, so the only way to bring changes is by forcing teachers to adapt…