Education

All we need is a little support

While we were recently discussing our university issues, Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed, president of Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA), mentioned Dr APJ Abul Kalam of India and Prof Kader Khan of Pakistan and their great achievements for the nation. Well, I would like to say that not only in those neighbouring countries, but all over the world university teachers get lots of perquisites that make their research and teaching life easy, so they are able to think about the development of their nation. But do we get that sort of support?

We, teachers, live unbearable lives, even living in a small room in a residential hall for years! Thousands of teachers ride to work on public or general university transport as many live in distant suburbs and they do not have the means to buy a personal car. One of our teachers recently was about to lose his legs while trying to get on a public bus from Shahbagh to Uttara. He fell and went under the wheels of the bus, but he miraculously survived.

We do not have any higher education fund to go abroad and enhance our knowledge. On the contrary, in other countries, teachers are highly paid and funded by the government to pursue higher education, which is a part and parcel of our career and development. Teachers of our universities sometimes manage funds personally, but that has become extremely competitive and uncertain these days.

Let’s look at the multinational or private companies. Even a mid-level corporate employee gets perks such as an apartment, a car, personal loans and a very high salary. And it is a matter of great regret that while many university teachers come to work in rickshaws or public buses, their students, whose parents work in private firms or banks, wheeze past in luxury cars. And we created those officers! Our teachers built the intellectuals leading the nation.

We have the teachers who silently support impoverished students who can’t bear living costs in Dhaka city, we have teachers who secretly pay beggars to run small businesses, we have teachers working for the poor in their villages to help with development in any way _ and all from their meagre salaries.  

Perhaps, we have flaws in our methods, too, but that can be addressed in different and genuine ways.

So, we, the teachers of the public universities would like to convey our message to the government and the nation that what we are demanding is not irrational or overly ambitious. Rather, it is an urgent necessity of the time as we have been long deprived.

I would like to highlight a few points: not all public university teachers take classes at private institutions; if they do take classes outside, why are they doing so? It is because their salaries and benefits are below their social status; teachers take pride in their work and research and their dignity should be respected; it is not true that bureaucrats don’t work elsewhere, too. In fact, some of them teach part-time at different universities.

Our university teachers sacrificed their lives in 1971, because of their ‘crime’ of leading the nation with their wisdom and knowledge. The Pakistani military particularly targetted scholars from Dhaka University so that the nation could not stand strong and flourish on her own with glory and prestige. We should not forget our history, nor should we repeat it by killing our wisdom little by little.

Education is our backbone. Our quest is to strengthen the spine to stand tall in the world with respect and dignity.  All we need is a little government support.

The writer is an assistant professor at Dhaka University.

 

Education

All we need is a little support

While we were recently discussing our university issues, Professor Farid Uddin Ahmed, president of Dhaka University Teachers Association (DUTA), mentioned Dr APJ Abul Kalam of India and Prof Kader Khan of Pakistan and their great achievements for the nation. Well, I would like to say that not only in those neighbouring countries, but all over the world university teachers get lots of perquisites that make their research and teaching life easy, so they are able to think about the development of their nation. But do we get that sort of support? We, teachers, live unbearable lives, even living in a small room in a residential hall for years! Thousands of teachers ride to work on public or general university transport as many live in distant suburbs and they do not have the means to buy a personal car. One of our teachers recently was about to lose his legs while trying to get on a public bus from Shahbagh to Uttara. He fell and went under the wheels of the bus, but he miraculously survived. We do not have any higher education fund to go abroad and enhance our knowledge. On the contrary, in other countries, teachers are highly paid and funded by the government to pursue higher education, which is a part and parcel of our career and development. Teachers of our universities sometimes manage funds personally, but that has become extremely competitive and uncertain these days. Lets look at the multinational or private companies. Even a mid-level corporate employee gets perks such as an apartment, a car, personal loans and a very high salary. And it is a matter of great regret that while many university teachers come to work in rickshaws or public buses, their students, whose parents work in private firms or banks, wheeze past in luxury cars. And we created those officers! Our teachers built the intellectuals leading the nation. We have the teachers who silently support impoverished students who cant bear living costs in Dhaka city, we have teachers who secretly pay beggars to run small businesses, we have teachers working for the poor in their villages to help with development in any way _ and all from their meagre salaries. Perhaps, we have flaws in our methods, too, but that can be addressed in different and genuine ways. So, we, the teachers of the public universities would like to convey our message to the government and the nation that what we are demanding is not irrational or overly ambitious. Rather, it is an urgent necessity of the time as we have been long deprived. I would like to highlight a few points: not all public university teachers take classes at private institutions; if they do take classes outside, why are they doing so? It is because their salaries and benefits are below their social status; teachers take pride in their work and research and their dignity should be respected; it is not true that bureaucrats dont work elsewhere, too. In fact, some of them teach part-time at different universities. Our university teachers sacrificed their lives in 1971, because of their crime of leading the nation with their wisdom and knowledge. The Pakistani military particularly targetted scholars from Dhaka University so that the nation could not stand strong and flourish on her own with glory and prestige. We should not forget our history, nor should we repeat it by killing our wisdom little by little. Education is our backbone. Our quest is to strengthen the spine to stand tall in the world with respect and dignity. All we need is a little government support. The writer is an assistant professor at Dhaka University.