Iftikhar Rashid Wani
Transfers are the part and parcel of one’s service. When a government employee enters the service his sole aim remains to serve the society. All the employees of all departments are trying their best to come over the expectations of people. Yet some departments leave a lasting impact. The society is always indebted to such departments.
One such department is the Education department where you will find the kind hearted, humble and gentle persons serving in silence and making the difference. While assisting the student community to realize their dreams, their only concern remains to make the students believe in themselves and aspire to the top positions and to get that in their lives. The people here are full of warmth and genuine humanity beyond any social or religious differences. The people here are full of etiquettes and continuously producing gems of society. Such people are known as teachers.
Teacher is an edifice of all education systems. He is himself an institution. The base of all social structure is a teacher. No nation building is possible without the active role of a teacher. He is the person who nourishes a child with his blood and sweat. A child learns from cradle to his death because of such teachers. He is responsible for transforming the people into good human beings. Teachers are playing a fundamental role in the building up of the charisma of the next generation. But at the sametime I am accepting that there are uncanny times in education. Turn any social media page, print media we observe a harsh reality where there is some disturbing incident involving teachers and students. Sometimes teachers have been harshly attacked or students have been mishandled by the teachers. Since the appearance of parent’s, student prejudice, the work of teachers is misconceived.
Even inside education, some teachers have been pursuing this trend accusing students of being truant.
It is not good for society that bright people are not preferring the teaching profession instead looking for the greener pastures for their career. I have seen many young, talented individuals leaving the teaching job instead choosing other departments for their livelihood not because teaching cannot earn their bread and butter but they are afraid of the social mind set.
Teachers can neither scold students nor make them do positive things which the students do not want to do. In Jammu and Kashmir it has a long-standing tradition of holding teachers in high esteem. Sadly, over the past few decades, the status of teachers has declined. Regrettably, teaching is often considered a stand-in option, chosen out of compulsion rather than heartfelt desire.
It is sad reality but some days ago the government transferred many lecturers and masters teachers to serve the new places, new student community and institutions for the betterment of the system-a welcome step.
In my school my best friends Mr. Shabir Ahmad lecturer Statistics and Mr. Riyaz Ahmad Sr. Lecturers in Political Science were also transferred to serve other places. I witnessed a beautiful bond between them and their students. They were given a grand farewell by their beloved students. The students were crying dribbled with moist eyes and were seen to bid adieu to them. The countless rolling tears were the testimony of the hard work of their teachers which they rendered during their stay in the school. The scenes of them leaving the school were hard to accept but it was the reality. They left an indelible impression on their students.
Mr. Riyaz and Mr. Shabir were the towering figures of the school who rendered a good time in serving the students of the downtrodden area. Dear friends, you have motivated thousands of minds, warmed countless hearts with your knowledge. Indeed this is the end of an era. With a heavy heart they left the institution but the cherished relationship between the mentor and mentees was a ray of hope. There is hope that still we can expect positivity from the teacher-student relationships.
Remember a teacher becomes a teacher because of his students and students become good human beings because of the teachers. The intense scenes of their departure made me realize that together we teachers can make this experience of teaching worth remembering. Good bye my friends with a hope that you will continue to illuminate the future generation with your urge to serve, knowledge and wisdom.
Author is Lecturer at GHSS Mantrigam . He can be mailed at Iftikar.wani@gmail.com
