Soomro calls for revising teachers' salary structure
By Khawar Ghumman
ISLAMABAD, July 19: Senate chairman Mohammadmian Soomro has called for revising teachers' salary structure with a view to providing them comfortable living.
He was speaking as chief guest at the inaugural session of a five-day training workshop on "Early Childhood Education" at the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) here on Monday.
The workshop has collectively been organized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), USAID, the AIOU, and the Children's Resources International, an NGO. "If we want teachers to be playing their due role and delivering the goods in line with the requirements of the 21st century, we need to take care of their necessities," Mr Soomro said.
Any methodology developed either by private or public sector to improve upon teaching standards will not be effective if there are no significant incentives for teachers. "I fully agree with one of the recommendations passed by a university that district education officers should be made more influential so that people should start paying them respect," the Senate chairman said.
If the government and donors are not willing to pay a relatively modest price for investment in education, the development potential loss will be horrendous, he warned.
He asked the teachers to become facilitators rather instructors. With teachers foregoing corporeal punishment for intellectual stimulation, children will be able to study in an interactive environment.
All this requires behavioural and attitudinal changes in teachers, as well as changes in curricula and methodologies; in sum, changes in country's educational institutions, so that critical thinking can be developed among children, creating real critical analytical skills, the Senate chairman said.
"Our educational system and institutions are in dire need of transformation to remedy this situation. It will take at least a generation to undertake this gargantuan task, but it must begin immediately if Pakistan is to have a successful insertion in what is to be the viciously competitive 21st century," he maintained.
Speaking on the occasion, US ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell said the early childhood education programme was one of the first initiatives USAID took in Pakistan.
"I hope that this workshop will help the ministry of education and participating teachers' education institutions adopt a strategy where early childhood education can be incorporated into all per-services and in-service teacher education courses," she said.
