Professor Dr. Md. Nasim Akthar:

Everything in this realist world is judged by money and glamour. So to speak, government officers are provided with cars but a university teacher has to arrange the car on his initiative. In such a situation, taking up teaching as a profession may give the impression that one has made a wrong decision. This can lead to a discouraging environment for meritorious people who want to enter this profession. In these circumstances, I have tried to highlight the richness and peace of the teaching profession from my viewpoint and analysis. My writing will inspire many of them who want to take teaching as a career to think differently.

I am in this profession for the last 23 years. If I talk about achievement, I have to say that about 2,300 students have been graduated holding my hand. Almost all of them are engaged in different sectors. Suppose one of my students gets a salary of 40,000 Taka at his workplace. However, in this case, to my knowledge, the maximum salary limit is 5 lakh Taka and the minimum is 30,000 Taka. I am taking an average salary of 40,000 Taka each. If it is calculated, the situation will be like this- the students who get jobs through my education earn an average of 92 crores per month. With such statistics, I can call myself a mobile industry. Only teachers can make a silent revolution of the economy by keeping society disciplined.

It was just an analysis from the economic aspect. There lies also the human and the moral aspects. These aspects are called the oxygen of society. The way people cannot survive without oxygen, society dies in the absence of morality and humanity. It is a universal truth that people learn human qualities from their parents and teachers. Abraham Lincon once wrote a letter to his son’s teacher. The letter is as follows- “The honorable teacher, I have sent my son to you for the sake of learning. This is my expectation from you to make him an ideal man. You must teach my son that not all people are kind, not all people are honest. Please teach him that amid evil there can be a hero. There is a selfless leader among every selfish politician. Teach him that one earned dollar is worth more than picking up five dollars from anywhere. Make him understand to learn how to accept defeat and how to rejoice in victory. Teach him to stay away from jealousy. If possible, teach him the secret which lies in the beauty of silent laughter. Let him learn to understand in advance that those who persecute can be easily overwhelmed by the secret of silent laughter. Make him urged for discovering the secrets hidden in the book. Teach my son that failing at school is more respected than copying. He should have full confidence in himself even if everyone thinks he is not capable of it. Teach him to behave politely towards good people and to be harsh towards rude people. Make my son so strong that he should not follow the footsteps of the drunken coward. Teach him how he should listen to everyone but accept only the good. He should learn how to smile even amid sorrow. Again, teach him to understand that there is no shame in crying. Let him learn to hate those who are ruthless. He should beware of extra comfort as well. Please be kind to my son but don’t tolerate any of his wrongdoing. My child should not be impatient rather he may have the patience to become brave. Teach him how he can establish trust in the human race. Only then he will have great faith in himself. This is your faithful Abraham Lincon.” Abraham Lincon did not write a letter to people of any other profession. He wrote it to his son’s teacher. So to build a happy-prosperous civil society there is no substitute for an honest and conscientious teacher.

To build a developed nation and country, we have to build a research-minded nation first. Research is the only way to unravel the mysteries of nature. In the case of research, teachers play the most important role in guiding students to the right path. Germany is one of the industrialised countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in one of her speeches, “Teachers are not ordinary people; therefore it is not desirable to take up teaching as a profession without qualifications. When judges, doctors, and engineers of that country asked for the equivalent salary like the highest-paid teachers then Merkel replied that how they are being compared with those who have taught them.”

My friends engaged in different professions often say, “You have comfort and ease. If you take three classes spending three hours a week, there is no more work.” There is a misconception here. In this part, I would say even if one takes six hours or nine hours of class per week, he always has to keep his head busy in finishing the preparation and other relevant task related to that class. We often think that if we do not prepare well and somehow finish the class with inadequate preparation, the students will not be able to catch the issue. This is not true. Students catch it quickly whether the teacher has been prepared for the class or not. If it happens in the class of undergraduate and postgraduate, there is no room for question. Therefore, if someone wants to be a teacher, they should come into this profession only after they are sure about their self-respect and respect towards duties. The unconditional love and respect that true teachers receive from their students are unmatched by any other profession. So I think the richness, serenity, and contentment of the dedicated teachers as the artisans of nation building is incomparable.

The writer is the Vice-Chancellor, Chandpur University of Science & Technology