Role of teachers:

Change for the better?

Today is dedicated to all teachers around the world.

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Interviewed by Dhaneshi YATAWARA

[email protected]

(1) How would you define a teacher?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

I will give you an extract of a poem given to me by one of my students at the Devi Balika Vidyalaya on a Teachers' Day. It says " He who teaches the child and the whole personality thereof is the best teacher." To me this explains all what a teacher means to me.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

It is very difficult. Even the parents can be teachers. Teacher is a person who would try to develop the character of a person. Not just the subjects but the totality of a character. A teacher is a person who can develop the personality of another.
 

(2) How do you see the present status?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

First and foremost I must say the people world over respect and appreciate the teachers' contribution to the education and development. A country needs qualified, motivated and confident teachers. But at present I doubt whether our present day teachers have inherited such qualities. I don't blame them. Most of the time now, teaching is taken as a job because those youth in need of an employment do not have any other recognized option to choose. It is a pity because if one wants to educate and develop the child, the primary requirement is that it should come wholeheartedly. When these less qualified teachers are posted to schools the principals have to teach them how to teach. For example teachers come to teach English but they can't speak proper English. Sometimes children are more knowledgable and the teacher might face a terrible situation. When the teacher is not confident enough to teach, whatever the subject, the students will loose confidence in their teachers. So, the students may even go to the extent of criticising the teacher.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

For well over a century successive Governments of Sri Lanka have supported the education system spending more and more resources. But, for what purpose? Our education system doesn't seem to be having a vision. May be some individuals at the planning level may have but it is not clear to the rest of the sector. This should be done by a well-balanced team comprising professionals like educationists, social scientists, natural scientists, doctors, engineers etc. All the schools, all the teachers and students and even the gate keeper must very well know the vision of our country's education sector - where we should head on as a country. This teachers' problem is also a result of this unclear vision; the teachers don't know what they should do. The education system must have a vision to create innovative citizens. The present social context demands that every individual must be productive, innovative even just for the survival. We need to develop the human qualities like tolerance, respect for others, being a good team player etc. We have to inculcate knowledge so that one will understand he or she is an equal among many. In this level many of the problems we face may find successful solutions. Such is not taught to the students so the teachers must be educated and directed to achieve that vision.
 

(3) Is it satisfactory?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

Well, as I see, when these people are taken into the profession and though given a training yet if they are not motivated it is difficult to make a proper teacher. In such situations children may find it difficult to give the due respect since they might observe shortcomings and failures of their teachers. If we get competent, motivated and confident teachers, conducting a school is easy. But when the teachers are not of good calibre students start criticizing them.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

The state of the entire education system is not very satisfactory. So the Government and the authorities concerned must establish a clear vision for the total education sector. We need to have a rational evaluation system where we can appreciate those who have done a good job. Those are really what teachers need. Political interferences are there but it is not unique. And the type of questions the children have to face, particularly for the cutoff point exams, are easy to guess - they are repeated over a period of time. This is merrily used by private tutors to become more popular. It is just memorizing, guessing and vomiting what is in the child's head and then they pass the exams. This is not right. Is this what we are aiming? In mathematics paper for O/Ls the least popular one is geometry. But in maths geometry is the essential. It caters to variety of fields - from the simplest form to the most complex. But the parents only need an 'A' for Maths and they aren't bothered about assessing child's results. So the most important sections of subjects get ignored.

(4) How do you compare the past and the present teacher generations?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

In the past, teachers knew their value. For children small things matter a lot. Teachers wrote their lesson plans everyday. Those days there was no other way for the students to gain knowledge than the teacher. But today, children have more avenues. In many developed countries online education is available for children who are not going to school. Some parents don't want to send their children to school. At present at some schools, mostly urban, parents have the habit of taking very expensive presents for teachers. I am and was totally against it and in my school we never encouraged that. This would lead to favour certain students and it is not at all fair. In the rural areas the problem the present day teachers face is that they are not having enough resources. Very recently I had a chance to work in a JICA project catering to schools in rural areas like Wellawaya and Bandarawela. There, the Principals and teachers were very keen to do the work. When they are given the necessary facilities they will perform well.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

The role of the teacher has changed. During our time those teachers were doing a service. Now this has become a profession. In this context people are expecting returns. Of course, if it became a profession it must have professional ethics. These demanded returns are mostly in monetary terms.This has repercussions on all respective parties - the children, parents and the authorities. During our time teachers went out of their way to help us.Their achievement in mind was the student to prosper. They held after school classes without any reward. They were very polite, punctual and even their dress was simple and neat. They wanted to set an example to the students.Now it has turned into a profession just like medical, engineering etc and the students have felt that their teachers are not serving them any more. It has become just another job stuck to fixed working hours. So it is felt that teachers are similar to any other Government worker.
 

(5) Is there room for teachers to improve?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

Yes there is. Teachers matter a lot in a society and for a child's life. With training one can become a good teacher. It is the duty of the Principal to motivate her to become a good teacher. There are various training programmes held for teachers on many subjects. But the in-service training courses we have today, must be held during the vacation because it is difficult to finish the syllabus as scheduled, as many teachers go for these during school time. The authorities must take necessary steps to rectify this mistake.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

Of course there is. We need to get their professional development. Otherwise, country will never prosper. But they can't do it on their own. Decision makers must keep in mind not the number but the important service the teachers are contributing to the country. Since there are a large number of teachers around the country, I have personally seen that certain authorities are not willing to bear that cost for such a large crowd. But they should be given the opportunities, including foreign exposure in an equal manner. On the otherhand, some teachers are not interested in developing themselves as well.
 

(6) In your point of view, what are the problems teachers face at present?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

Teachers are over-loaded with additional work especially assigned by the authorities as assessments, i.e. filling up forms, charts etc. Since it is very time-consuming, it may lead to neglecting lessons. Transport is a problem. They have to leave home very early to be on time at school. Many teachers do not eat properly. The timetable is so much tight that they have to run from one class to another when the study periods are over. There is no break in between. In many other countries there is at least ten minutes break in between. In Sri Lanka we are neither relaxed to learn nor to teach. Teaching and learning environment is not so pleasant. And, on the other hand, I got to know a very alarming situation. Some of my students who are now teachers said that at certain schools some very senior teachers are trying to demotivate the newcomers - especially when they go for their internship during the training period. This is very unfortunate in Sri Lanka.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

We must realize that teachers are also a part of the society. These changes we see in the profession are results of the social revolution we are going through. We can't blame the teachers. I don't blame the teachers. They have to buy goods from the same shop that we go to. Their children face the same competition as other children do. So we must understand that as well. They are also facing the same economic background like any of us. Hence, the due benefits to them should be given. Of course, we can understand the difficult situation the Government is going through but that should not be a reason to deter giving the due benefits to the teachers. If the teacher is satisfied with his remuneration and the benefits he is getting then the job will be done perfectly. If the teachers' job is not done properly the entire nation gets affected negatively. These days teachers cannot take the total control of the student. I don't mean causing physical harm. But the teachers must have a control over the students.
 

(7) Is this something unique to our country?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

We can address the main problems we have between the different ethnicities of our society. At the classroom we must make the children understand that they can do things better collectively rather than individually. This is easier to teach at school more than at home. We can connect up Sinhala and Hindu schools and thereby the children as well.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

We need to give top priority to education because we are moving from knowledge society to wisdom society. It is the education that matters. As a developing nation if we have a good educated human resource we can build a developed country. Human resource is the best resource we have as a country; we have very good talents. But this does not happen. Reason as I think is because the end result of the education is long-term. It cannot give a boost to the popularity of a person.
 

(8) Where do we stand compared to the global situation?

Kalyani Luxman, Former Principal Devi Balika Vidyalaya:

Compared to the SAARC region and even the other parts of the world we are considerably at a high level in our literacy rates. But then again what does the literacy rate predict? I don't know whether it is the proper way of measuring the knowledge. But overall, we are at a better position. Through education children can take the lesson to the family. Children like to teach certain things to their parents.

Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe,Former Director National Institute of Education:

We have very good talents. We are not at a very bad state either compared to countries in our own region. We have a very good system. In developed countries like Australia the salaries of school teachers and University lecturer are more or less the same. But In our country there is a big difference. But with high salaries those teachers abroad work ten to twelve hours a day. It is not just teaching. Preparation, meeting parents etc. They do not have to look for other a venues of income. Still we have the potential to develop.