BENGALURU: For many teachers working in schools across the state, it’s not really a ‘Happy’ Teachers Day. In a survey conducted by the Brain Centre, a private research centre for primary education, around 65 per cent of them have said they aren’t ‘happy’ or ‘satisfied’ with the job.
In a similar survey conducted in 2010, around 53 per cent had said that they were unhappy with their job, which means there has been a 13 per cent increase in the number of teachers who are unhappy.
Around 5,000 teachers from state government, private, aided and unaided schools were surveyed.
Speaking to Express, Leelamrutha, a mathematics teacher working at a private school in the city said, “I have been in this profession for the last 16 years. I joined this profession with a passion to work with the kids. But now I feel like I’m just here for the salary. The profession has lost its sanctity.”
According to the surveyors, reasons why teachers are unhappy include government policies like ban on corporal punishment, no detention till a certain level, pressure from parents and more. “This is what a majority of the teachers told us during the survey,” said a member of the survey team.
“We have collected the data but it is yet to be concluded officially. Once it is final, we will submit it to the state government in the form of a report,” said D Shashi Kumar, director of Brain Centre.
Teachers blame RTE act
While sharing their opinions, many teachers blamed the RTE Act for their ‘miserable situation’. “Right to Education Act, which ensures free and compulsory education to kids, also bans corporal punishment and asks schools not to detain students. Because of this, we can’t even raise our voice inside the classrooms to control those students who distract others. By any chance if we raise our voice, the next day we will have to face their parents, or sometimes meet kids and their parents at the police station,” said Chandrakala Poojar, a government school teacher.
Malleshappa S, a head master at a government high school in Hassan, said, “Just a week back I had to face a very humiliating situation - I had to apologise to a Class 8 student.
“The boy was disturbing the class, so I made him stand in front of the blackboard for a while. Next day, I had to face the ire of his parents and the so called leaders of the village. And then I had to apologise to him,” he added.
What the survey reveals
20% of teachers are thinking of quitting the profession
Teachers feel insecure; demand job security
Some even quit the job by giving in writing that, ‘they can’t take the pressure’
Teachers feel that they are not respected anymore