Teachers are the basic elements of a developing city. But it hurts to state that teachers are not getting their rights in our country. On the contrary, teachers are given due respect in western or other countries but it is quite different in Pakistan. Teachers in Pakistan are not getting their due rights. Like teachers are tortured, beaten, disrespected, given minimal salary and the list goes on. Surely, teachers in most areas of Pakistan are not given the respect that they deserve. They are beaten and tortured by children of well-to-do families.
While teaching is considered a noble profession all over the world, it is sadly one of the least appreciated and lowest paying jobs in Pakistan. Unfortunately, there are no laws in the country which safeguard the rights of the teachers. Most private schools are in the business of making profits by charging hefty amounts as monthly fees. Others that have popped up across the country charge much lesser fee, but have abysmal standards for hiring teachers. They appoint teachers on the basis of their confidence instead of subject knowledge to avoid paying them well. Hence, a person who has just passed, say, examination for the 10th grade, can easily become a Science or English teacher in these schools.
The Covid pandemic has affected all professions, and teachers are no exception. Many families, which went through financial crisis during the pandemic, have shifted their children to these low-fee schools, but the school-owners do not pay full salary to their teaching staff. Despite protests, they are not willing to give teachers their due rights. Our private school sector is thriving, and with one time investment on building construction and running costs of staff salaries, is making mammoth profits. Private schools have seen growth in our country like no other business; many chains of schools have emerged with ever increasing number of branches and with ever increasing wealth of the owners of these enterprises. This lucrative business of education has made some people obscenely rich by turning this service of education into a commodity which it is not.
Fees in private schools are being increased at an astronomical scale but teachers serving in these prestigious schools have been reduced to the status of salesmen of some products. This is an open secret in our society that our teachers are exploited by the private sector in the worse possible way. Even in the most expensive schools a teacher’s monthly salary is less than the monthly fee paid by a single student.
A very high percentage of our private sector teachers are dissatisfied with their working conditions, poor salaries, lack of say in academic matters and autocratic administration. These are the eight things that are the hallmark of our private schools environment that oppress and exploit teachers.
I request the government to take action against such school-owners and ensure that all teachers get paid on time.
Asif Rasheed
Turbat
