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| Teachers’ Day and the Need for Fair Recognition | | | Sadaket Malik
Teachers’ Day is celebrated each year to honour the contributions of teachers who dedicate their lives to shaping young minds. While awards and recognitions are important gestures of appreciation, a crucial question remains: are we truly recognising the right people, and are all deserving teachers being given a fair chance?
The Award of Recognition conferred on select teachers is a commendable initiative. However, across Jammu and Kashmir, hundreds of dedicated educators remain unnoticed. Many of them serve in remote and challenging areas, yet bring innovation, commitment, and passion into their classrooms. Their best practices not only improve learning outcomes but also deserve to be documented so that others may benefit from their experiences.
To bridge this gap, the Education Department should establish Talent Hunt Committees at the district level. These committees could identify, assess, and reward teachers who are genuinely contributing to qualitative improvement in education. Recognition must not remain confined to a privileged few; it should extend to those whose sincerity and innovation are often buried under layers of neglect.
Unfortunately, the current system reflects certain flaws. Invitations to workshops, seminars, and training programmes organised by SCERT and DIET are often extended only to influential teachers, sidelining equally deserving teachers. Similarly, the appointment of resource persons is too often based on connections rather than competence. Such practices not only undermine fairness but also deprive the education system of genuine talent and fresh ideas.
An equally serious concern is the issue of long-term deputations. Dozens of teachers and lecturers have spent more than a decade serving as academic officers in apex institutions such as SCERT and DIET, without ever returning to classrooms. While schools face shortages and need experienced educators, these officers remain detached from students and ground realities. Their academic progress also goes unchecked, while opportunities for other competent teachers remain blocked.
What is urgently required is accountability and reform. The prevailing “pick-and-choose” culture must come to an end. Transparent, merit-based systems should guide the selection of participants in training programmes, the appointment of resource persons, and the identification of awardees. Deputed officers should rotate back to schools after a fixed tenure, ensuring that their connection with classrooms is not lost. Alongside this, district-level awards for best practices should be instituted to promote inclusivity and motivation among teachers.
Teachers’ Day should not be reduced to ceremonial functions or token gestures. Its true essence lies in celebrating every teacher who makes a difference—whether in a remote rural school or in a bustling city classroom. It should serve as an occasion to reaffirm our collective commitment to fairness, inclusivity, transparency, and educational excellence.
When every deserving teacher is recognised, when innovation is valued above influence, and when sincerity is celebrated over privilege—only then will Teachers’ Day achieve its true spirit. It will no longer be a symbolic event but a reflection of the dignity, integrity, and excellence of the teaching profession.
The writer is a teacher in the School Education Department who writes on education policy, language revitalisation, and documentation. He is associated with the J&K Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) and Jammu Kashmir Teachers Association (JKTA). |
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