IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS RECOGNIZING THE NOBLE PROFESSION OF TEACHERS
The fifth of September, every year since 1962 is celebrated as the ‘Teacher’s day’ in India. It is in remembrance of the Second President of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, whose birth anniversary falls on that day. The blog intends to quote some observations made by the Honorable Supreme Court in some of its judgments about the Noble profession of teaching which are as follows:-
In SUSHMITA BASU & ORS VS BALLYGUNGE SIKSHA SAMITY, the Supreme Court observed:
” We must remember that the profession of teaching is a noble profession. It is not an employment in the sense of it being merely an earner of bread and butter. A teacher fulfils a great role in the life of the nation. He is the ‘guru’. It is the teacher, who moulds its future citizens by imparting to his students not only knowledge, but also a sense of duty, righteousness and dedication to the welfare of the nation, in addition to other qualities of head and heart. The main asset of a teacher is his students former and present. Teachers who have lived up to ideals are held in great esteem by their disciples. The position of the Guru, the teacher, in our ethos is equal to that of God (Matha Pitha Guru Daivam). The teachers of today must ensure that this great Indian concept and the reverential position they hold, is not sacrificed at the altar of avarice.”
In AVINASH NAGRA VS NAVODAYA VIDYALAYA SAMITI, the Supreme Court observed that the Indian society has elevated the teacher as `Guru Brahma, Gurur Vishnu Guru Devo Maheswaraha’. Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Radhakrishnan and Swami Vivekananda, the bench said:
“As Brahma, the teacher creates knowledge, learning, wisdom and also creates out of his students, men and women, equipped with ability and knowledge, discipline and intellectualism to enable them to face the challenges of their lives. As Vishnu, the teachers is preserver of learning. As Maheswara, he destroys ignorance. Obviously, therefore, the teacher was placed on the pedestal below the parents. The State has taken care of service conditions of the teacher and he owed dual fundamental duties to himself and to the society. As a member of the noble teaching profession and a citizen of India he should always be willing, self-disciplined, dedicated with integrity to remain ever a learner of knowledge, intelligently to articulate and communicate and imbibe in his students, as social duty, to impart education, to bring them up with discipline, inculcate to abjure violence and to develop scientific temper with a spirit of enquiry and reform constantly to rise to higher levels in any walk of life nurturing Constitutional ideals enshrined in Article 51A so as to make the students responsible citizens of the country. Thus the teacher either individually or collectively as a community of teachers, should regenerate this dedication with a bent of spiritualism in broader perspective of the Constitutionalism with secular ideologies enshrined in the Constitution as an arm of the State to establish egalitarian social order under the rule of law.”
In another context, the Supreme Court IN ANDHRA KESARI EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY VS DIRECTOR OF SCHOOL EDUCATION , observed:
“Though teaching is the last choice in the job market, the role of teachers is central to all processes of formal education. The teacher alone could bring out the skills and intellectual capabilities of students. He is the ‘engine’ of the educational system. He is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values.”
In MANAGER, NIRMALA SENIOR, SECONDARY SCHOOL, PORT BLAIR VS. NI KHAN, the Court noted that the qualifications and the character of the teachers are really important
“Educational institutions are temples of learning. The virtues of human intelligence are mastered and harmonised by education. Where there is complete harmony between the teacher and the taught, where the teacher imparts and the student receives, where there is complete dedication of the teacher and the taught in learning, where there is discipline between the teacher and the taught, where both are worshipers of learning, no discord or challenge will arise. An educational institution runs smoothly when the teacher and the taught are engaged in the common ideal of pursuit of knowledge. It is, therefore, manifest that the appointment of teachers is an important part in educational institutions. The qualifications and the character of the teachers are really important.”
In STATE OF MAHARASHTRA V. VIKAS SAHEBRAO ROUNDALE, the Supreme Court said:
“The teacher plays pivotal role in moulding the career, character and moral fibres and aptitude for educational excellence in impressive young children. Formal education needs proper equipping of the teachers to meet the challenges of the day to impart lessons with latest techniques to the students on secular, scientific and rational outlook. A well-equipped teacher could bring the needed skills and intellectual capabilities to the students in their pursuits. The teacher is adorned as Gurudevobhava, next after parents, as he is a principal instrument to awakening the child to the cultural ethos, intellectual excellence and discipline.”
In ST. JOHNS’ TEACHERS TRAINING INSTITUTE (FOR WOMEN), MADURAI V. STATE OF TAMIL NADU, it was observed:
“The teacher-education programme has to be redesigned to bring in a system of education which can prepare the student-teacher to shoulder the responsibility of imparting education with a living dynamism. Education being closely interrelated to life the well trained teacher can instil an aesthetic excellence in the life of his pupil. The traditional, stereotyped, lifeless and dull pattern of “chalk, talk and teach” method has to be replaced by a more vibrant system with improved methods of teaching, to achieve qualitative excellence in teacher- education.”
