Either the teacher didn’t see it or he just chose to ignore it but it seemed meaningless for him to react. This is a problem as well as a challenge for professionals who dedicate their lives to one profession. [break]
In the changing phase of the state, it is high time that the government introduced some mechanism to reassure these people. These professionals are surviving through irredeemable conditions.
Listing two groups from the exploited, I would like to highlight on the two Ts: Traffic Police, and Teachers. What both groups have in common is that they are guides of certain aspects of social groups. By profession, they are well-wishers, facilitators and guardians of the groups that they guide.
The first T people, or the Traffic Police, work hours in the hustle and bustle of the city, in scorching heat and blinding rain. Amidst dust and deafening noise, they are easily threatened by drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
The Driver-Police relationship is an inimical one, somewhat egotistical, as one sees the other as a rival. Drivers are often seen sticking their thumbs, gesturing at the traffic police.
If there is any dispute, it is never settled without acrimony. The traffic police are always victims of street troubles and it is evident that the streets have become our political rendezvous as well.
If we see the history of the traffic police since the feudal timed, we find some policemen responsible for the infamy of traffic police today through bribes and exploitation of authority.
Even now, some traffic policemen lack diplomacy and politeness in their dealings. Due to a few notorious staff, the whole department and their wholehearted devotion to minimize accidents for the safety of the commoners are being condemned by the commoners themselves.
The second T-group, or the educated professionals in the teaching faculty, often termed as builders of a nation, are at times abused and nicknamed by students.
Here I’m not considering the few lucky teachers who draw salaries that exceed five to six digits a month. In a stereotypical developing village, nobody wants to give away their daughter to a teacher.
Generally, people believe that a teacher is someone who has failed in every other option of his/her aims and objectives. In reality, many private schools’ pay is a trickle!
It’s very common to find a teacher with a Master’s degree working for Rs 5,000 a month with seven to eight classes a day and without a class teacher’s incentives. To make it worse, their specification holds no value inside the arena of private schools.
A high schoolteacher with Major English in Master’s may teach Maths in class three, Social Studies in class four, Health and Population in class seven, and GK in class two. Is he/she an all-rounder? Well, teaching could be easy, but isn’t this trend lackadaisical?
Although the two Ts belong to professions which require very hard work, full dedication and high self-esteem, these professionals are least thought of and rudely condemned inside their own professional arenas. Modern Nepal now demands respect for every hardworking citizen. It’s time now that the commoners and the government marked up their status.
The two Ts themselves need to realize their value and status in the state.
The writer is a student of Masters in Philosophy at Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur.
Related story
Two-day Huawei Digital Nepal Conclave 2022
