Moalims

An event was held at Government Girls Primary School in Sukkur to mark World Teacher’s Day. Students made posters for their teachers. The importance of primary school teachers was also stressed. PHOTO: EXPRESS

SUKKUR:
World Teacher’s Day was observed today in various schools of the Sukkur district under the aegis of the Sindh Reading Programme and USAID. In Sukkur city, programmes were organised in two primary schools, the Government Girls Primary School and Government Main Primary School.

On the purpose of the Sindh Reading Programme, project manager Israr Shah said that this programme was launched under USAID one-and-a-half-years ago and they have targeted more than 300 primary schools in Sukkur district. This programme is aimed at capacity building of primary teachers, especially to make them aware of the correct pronunciation of the Sindhi alphabets, Shah explained.

According to him, primary schools are the base of higher education and students’ futures can be shaped by weak or strong bases. Therefore, our main focus is primary education and its teachers, who can be termed as the architects of the nation, he said. Furthermore, he said, we want to give back respect to the teachers that they used to get in the past. Teaching is a noble profession and therefore they too, must keep their grace, he added.

The primary education district officer, Naseem Lakho, expressing her sorrow, said that today’s teachers are not respected like they were in the past because they fail to deliver. She advised teachers to take their profession seriously and get back their lost prestige.

The primary education director, Sukkur, Zaibunnisa Mangi, whose visit to the school was seen as a pleasant surprise, said, “Teachers, instead of complaining, should focus on providing quality education to students”. She said primary education is very important and so are the teachers who are responsible for carving the future of their students. She was hopeful that the teachers, sensing their duty, will perform it with utmost dedication and honesty.

A teacher of the school, requesting anonymity, said that everybody blames teachers for all the wrongdoings but nobody blames the headmasters and other higher ups. The school sweeper and peon work for the director, he pointed out. In the morning, students first have to clean their classrooms and then start studying, he claimed. “We are also facing an acute shortage of water in the school but nobody cares about it,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2015.