Teachers' desperate agitation

So, what are we getting into? Will education be held in abeyance as long as the government fails to fulfil the teachers' demands? If so, this is an unacceptable proposition, especially when the stakes are high.

Time is a very important factor here. Students will fall behind with each passing day without any academic engagement. The government has to show a greater sense of urgency and come up with the assurance that will soften the tough posture of the teachers and create an atmosphere in which normal functioning of the schools would be restored. The point here is that most of the demands of the teachers are genuine. And if these were met gradually over the last four and a half years as per the government's promise, we would not have been left with such a heap of their grievances.

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We must not also overlook the fact that wasteful expenditures on unproductive ventures have been going on in one shape or form. So the possibility of squeezing money out of such projects should be explored in order that additional funds could be placed for the purpose of meeting some of the urgent demands of the teachers.

The whole set of new problems has cropped up when we were engrossed in a discourse over how to enhance the quality of education. But what we are faced with is the possibility of the education system crumbling down. The decision-makers can ill afford to take a do-nothing stand on such an important issue. Students and their parents are eager to see the impasse coming to an end. Give them a break.