The Punjab School Education Department on Monday announced an extension in the winter vacations on account of the severe cold wave that has gripped most parts of the country since the past week. The schools in Punjab were earlier scheduled to open on January 6, 2019.
Teachers play a crucial role in our society, as they are the custodians of building a sound knowledge base for our coming generations and providing responsible, learned and hardworking individuals to the national mainstream.
The Punjab government has initiated the process of appointment of vice chancellors at public universities in the province, beginning with Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) advertising a request for applications for the vacant post of University of Sahiwal VC.
The Punjab government has made progress in the appointment process of vice chancellors at four public sector universities of the province following Supreme Court chief justice’s displeasure over universities being run without regular vice chancellors.
Officials of the Punjab Literacy & Non Formal Basic Education (L&NFBE) Department on Thursday accepted the two key demands made by protesting employees and teachers, ending the daylong protest and sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly at the Chairing Cross junction in Lahore.
The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) and elected members of other teachers’ bodies have flayed the government for removing PhD as the requirement for being appointed as vice chancellor in a public sector university. In a joint statement issued on Thursday, the associations announced that they would never compromise on PhD condition for VCs’ appointment and demanded the government undo the decision.
Following several violent police crackdowns and baton charge on Sindh teachers protesting for regularisation and promotions for the past several; days, the province’s chief minister has finally issued directives for the regularisation of 21,000 teachers, besides approving promotion of others.
A former student recalls how teachers provided important skills that made the pupil survive the demands of life, he writes a letter to teachers.
Dear Sirs/Madams/Teachers,
It’s been well over a decade since I last saw any of you. “Good riddance,” were the words I uttered the last time I walked out of the university. And boy, was I wrong. You see, no matter how much I rejoice getting rid of your monstrous assignments, mind-bending quizzes, petrifying shaming during presentations and your stern refusal to give in to my pleas for improved grades; I really, really miss you.
I want that monstrosity back, I want to return to that mind bending-ness, I crave for that shaming and I want to be on my knees, pleading, again. They say you value things the most once they are taken away from you, and I think the saying has caught up with me too.
So, without further ado, I’ll say it straight. Dear Teachers, I thank you for the love, I thank you for the guidance and I thank you for the advice. But more importantly, I thank you for the grind. I thank you for the ordeal, and I thank you for the agony.
I am really grateful for all those assignments, for without a go at them, I wouldn’t have survived a day in the real world. My mind wouldn’t have learned to sustain burdens and my nerves would have crumbled every time I thought of submissions.
Dear Sir, I am grateful for those unannounced quizzes, for without them I wouldn’t have learned to contain unforeseen catastrophes. I couldn’t have risen to the occasion each time an unanticipated threat arose and I couldn’t have learned to utilize resources to the best of my benefit.
Dear Madam, I thank you for that humiliation in that presentation, for without it I would never have known that a beating once in a while is alright. I would never have learned the way to rein in emotions or to take one on the chin and move on. It taught me setbacks were okay.
Dear Miss, I am grateful for the backbreaking projects, for it is there where I learnt not to fear the unknown. Without them, I couldn’t have learned to be brave and I would never have known the satisfaction of making a dedicated attempt. Without you, I would never have known instinct, I wouldn’t have learned to trust intuition.
Dear Teacher, I thank you for those grueling exams. It was during those that I learnt crucial survival skills like concentration, time management, pressure handling and maintaining mental calm under stress.
Dear Professor, I am extremely humbled by your critique, for without it I wouldn’t have tried to be better. I could never have known what ‘digging deeper’ meant and would never have endeavored to do more than I could. I would have remained ordinary, but for you.
Over these past few years, I have become increasingly grateful for your teachings, humility, forbearance and commitment. Grateful that you bore with me, cared to instruct me despite my antics and remained generous despite my callousness. I wish I realized your greatness back then. I wish I could tell you in person.
Thank you, teachers. To you, I owe my world.
So goes the saying. In fact teaching is one of the hardest jobs that come around. Entering a class full of boisterous youth, holding the attention of their wandering minds and replacing random thoughts with invaluable knowledge takes a lot of effort. That is why teachers leave some of the most remarkable impressions on our lives.
The eighth edition of the prestigious Future of Education international conference will be held in Florescence, Italy, in June next year. The highly revered conference on education will take place on June 28-29, 2018.