What is a Teachers' Association meant for?

What is a Teachers’ Association meant for? Is it a platform to confront the administration? Is it a forum to display one’s might? Is it a ladder to fulfill one’s ambitions and make advancements in one’s career? Is it a weapon to bully your opponents? Is it a means to become popular? After giving a serious thought to it I arrived at the conclusion that actually it is meant for none of them. Essentially it is a dignified and democratic space to voice genuine concerns of teachers. However another question that merits consideration is what qualifies as “the genuine concerns of teachers”?

Following appointment in the University what are the chief concerns, grievances and aspirations of a teacher? Most of his desires revolve around a congenial working atmosphere, good service conditions, timely promotions and equal merit-based placement opportunities, decent in-campus residential accommodation, intermittent deputation to conferences and seminars to strengthen his insight and knowledge base, timely remuneration and allowances commensurate to UGC Regulations, appreciation and incentivization of his good work and prompt disposal of files at various sections of the administrative block be it recruitment, research or accounts sections sans any red-tapeism and spine breaking hassles. But do these concerns really qualify as grievances of teachers whereas they actually are legitimate rights of a teacher that a University education system should automatically ensure in due course of time without a teacher exerting himself and struggling for the same.

Unfortunately in our scheme of things teachers have to pass through an ordeal and present these genuine aspirations and legitimate rights in the form of a charter of demands which otherwise should have been an inherent part of the institutional policy framework and should have been taken care of suo moto by the administration of our higher educational institutions since they are vital to the overall institutional development and no institution can thrive or progress without addressing these basic service issues of the most significant stakeholder of higher education i.e., a teacher. Sadly our systems haven’t evolved to that level as yet where these concerns could be automatically addressed without a teacher having to personally follow the same.

The very fact that there is no single yardstick in our institutions of higher learning for addressing these issues and there is no uniform treatment accorded to all teachers while dealing with such matters on case to case basis sometimes paves way for cheap and dirty politics that otherwise should have no space in a teachers’ association or in the administration. Both teachers and administration sometimes fall prey and draw mileage from such politicking and this is what results into personal agendas both of positive and negative nature propping up every now and then. People develop vested interests, grudges, personal ambitions, proximities as well as bitterness and animosities as a result of such discrimination and unequal treatment. In the long run such practices lead to institutional decay and degradation of both the associations as well the educational institutions. This lack of uniform policy and practice and non-adherence to the principles of equity and justice ultimately leads to mistrust, loss of credibility and sanctity of our associations as well as to the erosion of our institutional integrity and work culture.

Apart from redressing genuine grievances of teachers, teacher associations are also duty bound to extend full support to the administration for contributing substantially, positively and significantly in all their progressive and constructive measures that are aimed at bringing about progress and development of the institution as a seat of higher learning and raising its standards at par with institutions of national and international repute. They also owes something to the prime stakeholders of our educational set up i.e., the students and to the society as well. Administration too needs to view teachers’ association as an ally and a votary rather than an opponent or adversary. All positive measures taken by the administration for the welfare of the teaching community should be remembered for all times to come as a great contribution and legacy. Teachers must consider their institution as their pride, its growth as their growth and its degradation as their degradation. Administration’s objectives of institutional growth cannot be at loggerheads or at conflict with the objectives of teachers’ association. Both are complementary and supplementary to each other and that should be a strong reason for both of them to work together to achieve their respective as well as collective aim and objectives, both of which are essentially noble, reformative and well-meaning in character.

Main aim and objectives of a Teachers’ Association are not only to promote welfare of the teachers, to safeguard their legitimate academic and professional interests and to strive for improving their service and work conditions but also to explore opportunities for meetings and discussions related to the welfare of the society, in general, and of the teachers, in particular; to work for the maintenance, promotion and up-gradation of academic standards of our educational institutions; to co-ordinate with other organizations and associations having similar aims and objectives, both within and outside the state; to promote healthy professional relationships between teachers and students, teachers and administration, teachers and ministerial staff and to work in collaboration with other like-minded organizations and associations for addressing various societal issues and concerns. While teachers associations strive hard to secure genuine rights of teachers, they need to accord equal importance to the duties of teachers too. While they struggle to address genuine grievances of teachers they also need to work towards upliftment of the academic standards of their institution. Right and duties must go hand in hand for a sustainable growth and development of the institution. There is nothing wrong for teachers associations in working shoulder to shoulder with the administration as long as they are not working surreptitiously or clandestinely to achieve any of their own selfish motives or vested interests. They should not resort to opposition of administration for the heck of it. 

Teachers, students and the educational institutions are the three cornerstones of our higher education system and their welfare means the welfare of the higher education system on the whole. All government plans and policies aimed at improving the higher education system must be primarily focused upon these three sections that act as pillars of the higher education system. No progress is possible without taking all three of them on board in all measures of reform.