By Asif Amin
Education is the fundamental means through which nations are built, and the teacher is the architect of that construction. Yet in our society, education is gradually turning into a marketplace where fees matter more than knowledge, pleasing parents matters more than teachers, and customer satisfaction matters more than character-building.
Private educational institutions present a strange contradiction. Parents are charged hefty fees, while money is spent on buildings, publicity and ceremonies. But when it comes to teachers’ salaries, suddenly the institution appears to have financial constraints. It often seems as though the budget has room for everything except the teacher.
Teachers are expected to deliver excellent results, train and discipline children, keep parents satisfied, maintain order and take on additional responsibilities. In return, they receive salaries so low that even keeping the household running becomes difficult.
The tragedy is not limited to low salaries; there is also a lack of job security. A teacher knows that if they speak up for their rights, there are many candidates waiting outside who can readily take their place. This fear forces silence upon their lips and helplessness into their eyes.
The biggest question is why, in some private institutions, the child is treated with greater importance than the teacher. Perhaps it is because the child has become more of a customer than a student. If a teacher reprimands a child, the teacher is blamed. If they are strict about incomplete homework, they are blamed. If they stop a child from using a mobile phone, they are blamed. Even if they inform parents about a child’s academic weaknesses, they can still be held responsible.
This raises another question: if a teacher does not even have the authority to correct a child’s mistakes, then what does it mean to call that person a teacher?
The purpose of education is not to keep a child happy at all times; it is to make the child a better human being. Character-building does not always come through smiles. Sometimes principles are necessary, and sometimes stopping a child from doing something wrong is itself an expression of care. But when a teacher constantly lives in fear of parental complaints and administrative displeasure, they cease to function as a teacher and become little more than a customer-service employee.
Of course, not every private institution operates this way, and not every owner exploits teachers. However, when education is reduced to nothing more than a profit-making machine, the teacher becomes the easiest person to sacrifice. Fees increase, student numbers grow, new buildings are constructed and new campuses are opened, but the teacher’s salary remains where it was.
Punjab’s Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat also has a responsibility to take serious notice of this issue and ensure that private educational institutions are required to pay their teachers reasonable and dignified salaries. After all, leaving the person who builds the future of children worried about his or her own future cannot be considered a sign of any civilized education system.
What kind of system is this where a teacher inspires other people’s children to dream of becoming doctors, engineers and officers, while remaining worried about the future of their own children?
We must understand that low teacher salaries are not merely a teachers’ issue; they are an issue of educational quality. A teacher struggling financially cannot devote all their mental energy to the classroom. How can we expect exemplary performance from someone who has to move from one institution to another from morning until evening simply to meet household expenses?
A teacher needs more than a salary. They need respect, security and professional dignity.
The success of an educational institution should not be judged merely by its impressive buildings, extensive advertising or good examination results. It should also be judged by the condition of the teachers who stand inside its classrooms and educate its students.
Because buildings are made of bricks, institutions become famous through advertising, but nations are built by teachers.
If we entrust the future of our generations to teachers, yet leave those same teachers uncertain about their own future, then we must ask our education system one fundamental question:
Why is the hard work of a teacher valued so little?