Dhaka,  Tuesday
17 September 2024

Deterioration of student-teacher relationship: Who is responsible?

Mahbubur Rahman

Published: 08:31, 9 September 2024

Deterioration of student-teacher relationship: Who is responsible?

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In our country, the relationship between teacher and student has gone downhill for a for a long time. If the society does not change, there is no way out of it. There are many social factors behind this and the teachers' responsibility. Again, if I say insulting teachers is probably the easiest in this country. In this country, teachers are only given a place after parents in the pages of books, but in reality, it is different. Teachers have been slapped by parents, beaten by students, and physically assaulted by committee members. There are many such cases where teachers have been subjected to torture. I don't want to talk about mental stress and torture.

For example, I can mention the incident of slapping a teacher during the SSC selection examination at Victoria Jubilee (V.J) Government High School, Chuadanga. Again, for the last few days, the videos of the teachers of various educational institutions in the country have gone viral on social media and forced them to resign. But the students of that institution are doing all this. Most of the opinions are given in favour of teachers. But many say against it! Even saying it is the reason for the teacher's sin! I'm not saying the teachers didn't do wrong. As a human being, some mistakes teachers have made and made.

I assume that everyone who is treated like this is guilty. Even so, can a student use this with his teacher? Question to this society. To this civilization. Somewhere we have no naked civilization? Can those who aided or abetted it from behind also disclaim their responsibility? To tell the truth, there are corrupt teachers among the teachers. They have been involved in various irregularities. His crime had a legal basis for prosecution. He could have surrendered himself. He could have been given another chance. But after all, he is a teacher. No matter how much my teacher is guilty, I can never insult him.

Even if he is a most heinous criminal, I can hate him, but I can't drag him out with my own hands or presence. My hands will shake. Maybe I'm not brave enough. I don't want to be anymore. He taught me, at least for a day. He is my teacher. Now the question is whether social politics is responsible for the lengthening of the criminal record of a teacher? I don't understand the real need for private teachers to have the opportunity to do politics. I have seen an organisation head become the union chairman. So how will he handle the school and the union? Why should teachers go to meetings and seminars of various political parties? In general, why should teachers participate in political activities? The country's politicians have asked that question? Also, if you look at the place of accountability, you will see that a head teacher is not alone responsible for any unethical act. Anyway, we see the teacher forced to resign. We have seen how a teacher like a mother has to be disgraced by the goodness of Facebook. I was shocked by that. The parents who support this kind of work of these students will not think that this is only a teacher's farewell, remember that one day this society will also be destroyed like this. Just helps to smooth his way. I repeat that teachers also do wrong. But his punishment is right to be this way? Did this teacher not even for a day see these children as his children? Must have seen it. A teacher is a guardian. No one may have paid attention to his tears but those tears are the cause of destruction in one day. The teacher has the cheek to slap; does the society have the cheek? Is this a slap in the cheek of society? So much education has become flattened due to the lack of moral education and today society is going downhill. Some are watching and some are not. Those watching are also sitting quietly. Because there is nothing to do.

Now the teacher can be slapped, beaten, forced to resign, and harassed in many other ways! Because they also have flesh and blood bodies and are almost peaceful people. They cannot protest fiercely, even if they want to. Because they are teachers. Teaching is a profession. Like other professions, a professional's family is supported from here. But it is slightly different from other professions. Because the responsibility of the teacher is much more than in other professions. He has come to this profession with many challenges. If the child is not a human being, as the responsibility falls on the parents, the same amount of responsibility comes on the teacher. There is a sense of failure in not being able to teach him. Again, success has the opposite picture. That is teaching. Remember a long time ago? A teacher named Utpal Kumar tragically died due to the brutal beating of the student. Since his death, many people on social media condemned the incident as moral degradation and more. This is an incident like suicide. I am sorry too. But why did this incident happen, or is it possible to have the mentality of hitting a teacher in one day? There is no point in blaming only the delinquent student for creating this mentality. He did not notice that the society was rotting. The position of the teacher in the society is not there today. The student-teacher relationship has gradually loosened. The more the relationship is loosened, the more the respect and devotion decreases. Like King Alamgir, there is no situation to pour water on the teacher's feet! No one is solely responsible for that. The entire social system is responsible as a whole. When I failed to teach my child to respect anyone, he would disrespect his teacher too. The sense that a teacher has the right to discipline a student equal to his child has been lost from society. And here lies the problem. I am a teacher and have been teaching students for the past six years. While teaching, I could not be good to everyone. I didn't even try to be. That is not even possible.

The incident of bribing the teacher is not the first in our country. happening often. Be it a student or someone else. However, the incident of being bribed by a student is sad, humiliating, and emotionally distressing. I am a teacher and doubt I would have stayed in the teaching profession if something like this had happened to me. How many such events are being protested? Protesting against the unethical activities of a teacher and bribing him are not the same thing. Again, the fact that this is happening only at this time does not mean that the student is raising his hand or harassing his teacher. This moral degradation started long ago. Little by little, the place of morality has eroded. As a result of which, today a teacher had to die at the hands of a student without any crime. If we do not turn around now, it is doubtful whether any teacher will discipline his students in the future. Because discipline means that students should be disappointed. Again, why not only students, I have seen many inconsiderate parents who do not stop insulting the teacher on behalf of their child for some trivial reason. In this case, the student gets more courage. Of course, discipline the student if the crime is another matter! Once upon a time, my father used to enroll me in school and tell the teachers—I left my child. Do what the administration needs to teach. Now it is forbidden to hurt students physically or mentally. But there was a time when teachers used to go to class with canes. In order not to be read, I had to eat a cane house for mischief. But there wasn't or still isn't an iota of anger towards the teachers. It is at the hands of the teacher that a student gains the opportunity to contribute something to the country. A classroom where self-interested education is conducted with the sincerity of teachers and students. There will be faith, love, and sincerity. If not, we will have to wait for worse times.

The Writer is a Researcher, PhD, University of Rajshahi and Lecturer, Rajshahi Cantonment Public School & College. He could be reached at [email protected].

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