“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn,” Benjamin Franklin, an American writer said in the 17th century. There has been a paradigm shift in setting the objectives of education post independence era. The main objective of National Policy of Education 1968 was to universalize elementary education. NEP 1968 laid the road map for the eradication of illiteracy and to universalize primary education to villages and towns which were inaccessible. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, a flagship program started by the government of India was meant to achieve this target. From a literacy rate of 18% in 1951, we have moved up to 73% as of 2011.

Recently we have seen a video circulating on the internet in which a resourceful person is training a group of teachers about the new trends which are applied all over the world to make learning an enjoyable experience. NEP 2020 emphasis on activity based, play based and multi level learning. The said video had become a laughing stock for many social networking pages that compromised the sanctity of a teacher as an institution for some subscribers and earning few bucks without worrying for the reputation of teachers who were shown in the video. Such pages aren’t concerned about the reputation of an individual or an institution, rather they have their own interests but the worrying factor was the reaction of the people who without having any idea about the new trends and techniques in the teaching process started to ridicule the whole teachers fraternity.

Teachers have always played an important role in the evolution of any society, in defining the morals and ethics of a society, in shaping a society based upon human values. Because of teachers, societies develop socially and economically. Most of the teachers know they aren’t entitled to wealth and fame, but they have taken this profession as a passion.

With the rise of technology and information explosion we have seen moral degradation in the society which has put a big question mark on the status of a teacher in our society. It's disheartening to see a teacher being mocked for making teaching innovative and effective. Early childhood care and education is the focus of NEP-2020. There are different steps being taken from the government side to improve the infrastructure and the pedagogy at the early childhood level. Play way method and this kind of teaching in which you can introduce a child to his/her immediate environment is seen as an effective tool.

The world has gone too far from the traditional teaching to a play way method. Use of technology and different pedagogies have witnessed better results. A trainer acquainting teachers with these modern pedagogies shouldn’t be mocked, rather it should be appreciated. Performance of government schools has been a long debate in our society but now when this fraternity is trying to improve its skills for better results it should be encouraged instead of making fun of their efforts.

Teachers pass on values to the next generation. But here the question is if the same teacher is mocked and ridiculed then how we can expect a society based upon human values. Being a teacher, I can say with authority that each child is unique in his/her own way. Each child deserves special facilitation and love and care from a teacher for his/her intellectual, social and moral development. Application of these pedagogies takes us a step ahead to achieve that target, but I am afraid that if teachers are ridiculed in such a way, then how can we expect any different results.

(Author is a teacher working in District Baramulla. He can be reached at mehrajsufi123@gmail.com)