Teachers’ Day
Sunday, (October 3rd), is Teachers’ Day here in Kyrgyzstan, another of our unofficial Professional holidays.
It seems that the idea for Teachers’ Day, a day commemorating the work of those in education, began in India. Different countries mark the occasion on different days of the year. In India it is celebrated on September 5th, (the birthday of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan – the second President of India, who originally conceived the idea). but in Russia, and in most of the countries of the former Soviet Union – but not Kyrgyzstan, it is marked a month later, on October 5th.
Here, the day is marked on the first Sunday in October. That seems to be because that was the day is was was marked in the Soviet Union from its inception in 1965 until 1994.
Now, the very idea of “professional holidays” has always struck me as a bit odd – but declaring a Sunday as one seemed even stranger. After all, few would actually be working on that day – so what sort of of “holiday” would it be? But, then again, these professional holidays are not really meant to be actual “holiday” – more a day of showing respect for, and appreciation of the work of, those belonging to that particular profession.
Anyway, in 1994, it was moved to October 5th to coincide with UNESCO’s World Teachers’ Day which was inaugurated in that year. World Teachers’ Day, in turn, commemorates the adoption in 1966 of the UNESCO/ILO Recommendations concerning the Status of Teachers. This document defines both the responsibilities and the rights of teachers and thus recognized the importance for every society of having competent, qualified and motivated teachers.
The idea of the day is that it is supposed to provide an opportunity to draw public attention to the role of teachers worldwide as well as to the crucial importance of the role they play in society.
Around the world, different societies celebrate the day in their own way – competitions are conducted; concerts are given; receptions are held; sports matches are played; in Algeria, students hold a demonstration; in some countries the media run stories all week long; conferences and seminars are held; and in India, where the idea for the day originated, senior students take junior classes.
When I was working as a teacher back in the UK, however, there was no such thing as Teachers’ Day – although, to be fair, as I Ieft the UK and came to Kyrgyzstan in 1995, then the first World Teachers’ Day in 1994 was the only one that I would have experienced. As I remember it, however, there was nothing done to commemorate the day. Nothing in the news, not even the specialist Educational Press.
What’s more, I doubt if many in the UK, even today, know anything about the day. I took a look at the website of my former union, (a teachers’ union), to see if they had anything about it – the result: zilch, nichivo, nada, zero, zip, none, **** all, nil, zippo, squat, jack ****, ****** all, nowt, bupkis, diddly squat … in short: nothing.
(There was however reference to another worthy day: “Workers’ Memorial Day”, April 28th – which commemorates those who die while at work.)
Here, it seems that the children turn up to school bearing little presents for their teacher, maybe some flowers, and perhaps a hand drawn card. The “baseball kids” have been talking about the day for the last two weeks, but I think that’s because they know that classes in the lead up to the day will be a bit more relaxed and there will be no homework. Two of them decided there was no point in going in at all on Friday, but another one turned up for classes as usual, along with half his class. It seems that the other half of the class had also decided there were better ways to spend this particular day – and maybe they were right, because the were just sent home.
That doesn’t exactly strike me as being in keeping with the original concept of the day … although it is in line with the way that other professional holidays are celebrated and, as such, is understood and accepted by the rest of the population.
To be fair, however, teachers are generally held in high regard, here – probably higher than we were back in the UK.
Unfortunately, however, they are not that well paid. According to the law, the starting salary is supposed to be no less than the lowest subsistence level, (which, at the moment is just over 4000 som a month – or just a little less than USD100), but in reality most receive much less than this when they start work, (about 2000 som), and it is only with seniority, after they have worked a few years, that they finally get to earn more. One experienced teacher that I know who is nearing retirement – technically, she is retired – and works a heavy timetable – gets just over 10,000 som.
There are plans to increase teachers’ salaries, but at the moment even the Minister of Education cannot say by how much. “it will depend on possibilities of the budget,” he said in a press conference to commemorate the day. According to him, the ministry is preparing proposals connected with the reform of the salary system as a whole. “It will be not just an automatic increase of the rate, but in the method of payment of wages, which would induce teachers to work more qualitatively. We are also working out mechanisms of encouragement of the best teachers.”
Anyway, compare these salaries to those of teachers in the UK, which seem to start at GBP1800 a month – about USD2880 or 132,000 som … OK, I know there are a lot of differences between the two societies, cost of living, etc., but the consider the miners at the Kumtor Gold Mine – currently on strike for more money, they are looking for 40-50%, and although one said he would settle for 20%, others seem to be more recalcitrant – these are people who apparently receive between thirty and forty thousand som a month – or … well I could go on – but I think you will get the message … teachers are not that well paid.
This has a number of consequences. Remember, it’s usually a case that: “you get what you pay for.”
Many teachers, for example, take extra jobs … such as foreign language teachers often who work as guides during their long summer holidays.
Also, not many young people want to enter the profession, and those that do, often do not stay long. In fact, the vast majority of teachers today are drawn from the older generation – and many, like the person I mentioned earlier, are already past retirement age – so, there may soon be a problem as they start to exercise their right to retire … or … nature takes its course.
More worrying is the fact that there is a tendency to “sell grades”. During the past year there have been a number of publicised cases where teachers have been arrested for asking for, or taking, bribes. Although these are probably “exceptions rather than the rule”, such incidents help to dent the confidence that people have in the profession.
On the other hand, when someone is recognized as a good teacher, dedicated and efficient, then they are truly valued.
Bishkek