Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Teachers can Guide the Nation Towards Progress

As education have gained ultimate importance in the lives of nations, the role of teachers has also become paramount. They are believed to have the vital role of transferring education and knowledge to the students so that they are able to become responsible members of the society. The countries that are backward and that suffer from instability and disorder require teachers to have a greater role. They are expected to play their role with more determination and zeal so that the people are guided properly towards better future. Younger generations that decide the future of the nation need to have a very clear picture of what they can achieve through peace and tranquility and how they can reach to that goal. They need to realize that only through education they can fight against instability and chaos within the society.   
Unfortunately, that is not what we always see from the teachers in our country. The teachers in our society do not always seem to be the ideal teachers. They lack the skills and the talents that are required by a teacher. They, on certain occasions, even lead the students astray and on many other occasions make them follow everything blindly. They want their students to be obedient and dumb and do not like them questioning much. They consider the agile, motivated and enthusiastic students as ill-disciplined and worthy to be standing outside their classes most of the times. They, in some cases, even beat the students and insult them verbally. They do not treat the students the way they should be treated.
At the same time, there are observations that show that our society does not treat the teachers the way they should be treated. The teaching profession is not given the worth it deserves. Teachers are not paid properly for their tiring job. They cannot feed themselves and their families properly with what they earn through teaching. The training opportunities are very much limited for the teachers. There are only few schools, colleges or universities that pay so that their teachers can be trained. Teachers are expected to be super-humans; much is expected from them while they are not given much as a reward. It is forgotten that teachers have families and they have lives just like all the other people.
It is important that both the responsibilities and the rights of the teachers must be highlighted and debated so that measures can be taken to deal with deteriorating situation properly. There should be discussion and learning opportunities facilitated by the relevant ministry. And, taking advantage of this opportunity, the government authorities, the teachers and students can highlight the issues pertinent to the rights and responsibilities of the teachers so that they are able to have better role and contribution in the society and can truly play their role in the lives of the students.
Afghanistan is one of the countries that have been suffering from insecurity and economic instability. The teachers have been suffering from lack of facilities and they have been facing gigantic hurdles in performing their responsibilities with full devotion and justice. Ultimately, the students have paid the price. It is high time for Afghan authorities to take serious decisions in this regard.
Afghan government, in particular, has to play a very imperative role regarding heightening the position of teachers and of modern education in our country. Initial commitments by the National Unity Government (NUG) were appreciable. There were promises that new plots would be allotted to teachers. An increase in salaries of teachers and other privileges were also promised. It was also pledged that no one would be allowed to grab the land plots allocated to teachers by the Ministry of Education. Ministry of Interior was directed to take concrete action to vacate the land plots that the Ministry of Education had allotted to teachers, but were grabbed by powerful individuals.
However, it can be observed that all those promises have not been met yet. Moreover, there are no guarantees that all the teachers, especially the ones that do not have connections with the relevant people in the ministry would be able to acquire their share of land.
This step seemed very promising but it requires real commitment to make this happen properly. President, himself, needs to monitor the progress regularly in this regard and make sure that this promise does not remain a promise alone because if this promise is fulfilled it would be of great support in lifting the morale of the teachers. Moreover, it should also be ensured that there is corruption in the process of distribution and all those who deserve should be given their share. At the same time, it must not be forgotten that there are many other issues as well that are influencing teachers and their performance; therefore, those issues must also be handled properly so that the overall education system is put on the right track.