Do teachers deserve this?

Teaching is a noble profession. Really? So what are teachers and their families supposed to survive on? Nobility? 'Cause the system sure ain't paying them enough. Or stealing a little even from what they rightfully deserve. The strike by the college and university teachers in Maharashtra is a case-in-point this year. These teachers claim they were promised the clearance of their arrears by the government last year, but the state government has not adhered to the promise. They say that they have taken to the last resort - boycotting the final exams. The result? Thousands of degree college students are left hanging about their impending exams. They don't know whether the hanging sword called 'exams' will actually fall on them or not this year. 

Well, that's just one case. In another example, an experienced and qualified teacher, great with tiny tots, applied to a new 'internationally affiliated' pre-school (which is yet to start operations). She was offered a pay of Rs 5000 a month (no, I haven't missed a digit there) for working seven hours a day. All she could do is gape that the interviewer, keep a level head, and run the hell away from that place. I can safely say that in many cases, our house help earns more than that! No wonder no one in their sane mind wants to take up teaching! 

While my talkative self went about quoting these examples to anyone in the industry who would care to listen, there was yet another. Boy they keep coming. A private institute offering media and other courses, has officially asked its faculty members to cut down on the number of lectures they had been allotted to teach their subjects this semester. Budget constraints of course. God alone knows how much they will save on cumulatively cutting out about 10 lectures from each course. Needless to say, students gain to lose a lot. And here we are talking about industry professionals who actually take the time out to teach the students. They are not even full time teachers. 

Well, these ramblings can go on. And we sure can have some more from the other side, since we cannot vouch for the quality of every teacher. But you know what? If you throw peanuts, you will only get monkeys. And despite that fact, I am proud to do my bit to the best of my ability as part of the monkey troop. True story.