PROTECT HARDWORKING TEACHERS

This is an article I wrote to HORIZON JOURNAL during September, 1999.

Many people from various quarters of the society highly criticize private tuitioning by government teachers. But we have to take a close look at this.

Almost all the teachers who give private tuitions are very talented. (Otherwise they would not have been able to be in the business so long.) Most of these teachers have worked very enthusiastically in the government schools. Unfortunately what happens in the state school is if a teacher works hard and becomes popular among the students he will have to face many disturbances from the fellow teachers and the head of the school. In this sort of a situation such an enthusiastic teacher gets frustreted and loses the great enthusiasm he or she has in teaching.

One has to face challenges indeed. But at the end if a hardworking teacher finds himself helpless with no one to protect him (or his students) he will simply give up the hard work in the school and start private tuitions where he can find more freedom without being continually harassed.

I do not say just opting to private tuitions is the answer for this because there is a large number of parents who find themselves unable to make ends meet, let alone paying  their children’s tuition fees.

So officials should look seriously into this matter and they should be able to protect and encourage the hardworking teachers who are being harassed in the state schools. If the school system cannot absorb the services of talented teachers it would be pointless to criticize them being in a tuition centre.

T. B. Nandasiri Wanninayaka