Staff Reporter
Islamabad
This is an undeniable fact that the role of teacher is critical to the success of the education and particularly higher education. A renowned teacher and philosopher Mr Abul Kalam said: ‘teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of an individual. If the people remember me a good teacher, that will be the biggest honor for me’. The role of teacher in making or breaking an academic institution can never be ignored.
Islam has given high prestige and honor to the teacher. However, to enjoy this distinction of being a true teacher would require numerous sacrifices and commitments from teachers as well. In the recent focus on research by HEC and inducting PhD graduates directly as professor has affected the quality of teaching in many ways. The PhD faculty and Tenured Track Faculty has been focusing relatively more on publication of the research and research project due to the inherent needs of their job description.
This has certainly improved the impact journal publication of the faculty of Pakistan as one of the best in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries, but the quality of teaching in Universities has deteriorated over the years. At the other hand the contemporary teacher training and education programs in Pakistan has not been able to develop the knowledge, skills and attitude of the teachers to tackle the challenges of 21st century teaching. In this context, the former Vice Chancellor Allama Iqbal Open University and imminent educationist has recently expressed his fear in Urdu article. English translation of an extract of the article is reproduced here.
