By: Areeba Tayyab
Recently, a student named Hafiz Husnain Bilal was tortured to death by a school teacher who argues about his ill performance in class. Adding more to this narrative is the instance of the students of the same school burning the school to ashes in retaliation to the teacher’s act. These school considered to be epitome of knowledge and eradicators of ignorance, have ultimately becomes hubs to exercise anger and authority in all the wrong ways.
We all are well aware that teachers are the ultimate authority and their notion cannot be challenged in the class. They have the right to shape the class according to their understanding and they cannot be taken for granted by any student. But what if the teacher is the one exercising all the wrong things in class? What if the teacher is the one, not with the right answers?
Viewing the situation from a broader perspective, one has to blame the institution at first and mostly for all the catastrophe taken place. It is whispered for quite a time that the new generation has low self-esteem and has limited or no knowledge about ethics or mortality. But understanding the situation honestly, to blame the students is not the right way. The teachers are very much responsible not just because of one act of beating a child to death, but they are responsible for preparing such students who are willing to burn the whole facility in a moment of rage. This is a matter of crisis and one cannot just see it as an act of crime, but an act of collective failure performed on the part of educational institutes.
We all are well aware that teachers are the ultimate authority and their notion cannot be challenged in the class. They have the right to shape the class according to their understanding and they cannot be taken for granted by any student. But what if the teacher is the one exercising all the wrong things in class? What if the teacher is the one, not with the right answers?
As simple as it may seem, it entirely changes the situation of our education system because the bearers of light are the ones spreading the darkness everywhere. For the reason, it is essential that strict measures should be taken. For the reason, the educational institutes should be considered accountable. The educational institutes must take into account what the teachers have to offer the students. This does not necessary mean that they have to check the lesson plans strictly because this was already exercised but all in vain. The most important aspect is the element of ethics and morality at the beginning or end of each lesson so that students learn more than their subjects. The home room time should be revived at all the schools by all means so that the conversation between students and teachers should be more than just cramming and rote learning.
This is not as easy as it may seem, for exercising it, the institutes must evaluate the teachers and their attitudes first and then come up with capacity building trainings for the teachers to improve their attitudes in class. The classroom culture has to be considered again and there should be no room for violence by any means. The culture of snubbing students should be discouraged once and for all. There is a bad speculation that if the students are speaking more, they are ultimately insulting the teacher. We must understand that this is not the case. The student’s involvement is a healthy activity and should not be discouraged. There are several ways of maintaining discipline and the teachers are failing at it. Using force and physical punishment is a sign that you have failed as a teacher.
Furthermore, it is important that after the instance of Hafiz Husnain Bilal, the government and education commission of Pakistan must come up with serious constitutions that can denote such inhumane exercise as crime. The education institutes must also understand workplace harassment from a broader lens and try to secure the safety of the students, introducing the teachers in capacity building workshops. These workshops should be linked with classroom management, critical thinking and how to make your class more interesting. If the teachers are able to engage students, then there will be room for better learning and ultimately better classroom culture. In conclusion, the school policies and HR department must keep in account the teacher’s academic background, workplace attitude and most importantly his student evaluation. Without feedback from both sides, the school will never be able to make honest and fair decision.
The writer is Mphil in English Literature and can be reached at [email protected]
