Teachers, indeed, anchor
education system. Their credentials, qualification, experience, training and
aptitude act as a catalyst to produce refined future of the nation. Student
learning, motivation, examination success rate, enrollment rate and the dropout
rate depend on the quality of the teacher.
It is unfortunate that majority of teachers hired by private and public schools
are not highly qualified. Except large school systems like Beacon house, City,
Lahore Grammar, and others, the majority of others have roped in those who are
qualified up to intermediate or BA. They are paid meager salaries compared to
their counterparts in the government sector in addition to no job security. A
large number of teachers lack proper training and certifications. They are
less-immersed with hands-on training. They believe in cramming and their student
shy away research based work.
According to a UNESCO report, “majority of teachers are ignorant about lesson
planning which renders them incapable of handling with multiple problems in the
process of teaching and learning. Teachers egg on cramming of the materials by
students. Students do not know the use of libraries in educational institutions.
Thus, the reading habits are decreasing among the students. Teachers are highly
responsible for all this mess. It is their professional responsibility to guide
the students towards book reading. Teachers rely on lecture methods which do
provide an opportunity to students to participate in the process of education as
an active member. They only note the information and memorize this just to pass
the examination. Thus, students are evaluated on the basis of memorization of
facts and information rather than performance.”