While some teachers crave to pass on knowledge,others are more concerned about enriching themselves.
Teaching is a noble profession, they say. But the image of this noble profession has been dragged into mud the recent past in Cameroon. Gone are the days when teachers were highly respected in the society as they now are looked upon as the underdogs owing to their economic status and the deviant attitude of some of them. The remuneration of teachers may also leave much to be desired, though they fall within the same category like other civil servants. Owing to this, the tendency is that society has always tended to relegate them to the background, especially when, they commune with the other category of persons. This, people say, is because of their nature; always complaining, suffering from complex and pushing the society to look down on them.
When teachers were venerated in the past, it was because they use to conduct themselves with dignity, taking pride in seeing their students become successful in life. They derived pleasure from passing on knowledge though this has always been accompanied by a package at the end of the month. Given that there were a wide variety of options to choose from, those who opted for teaching, did so out of love for the job. However, with the advent of the economic quagmire in the country leading to a freeze in employment opportunities, many people chose teaching, just as a means of earning a livelihood. The pecuniary motive therefore superseded the professional drive. Upon graduation from school, young teachers board the planes for Europe or America to seek greener pastures as soon as they receive the financial package to enable them settle down in the job. Those who stay in the country refuse to go and serve in rural areas. Those who accept to do the job come up with all sorts of pranks to make money, selling lesson notes to students in the name of pamphlets. Some are more interested in business ventures than passing on knowledge in the classroom. Many believe that this attitude from some of the teachers has led to a drop in academic standards in the country.
The excuse given by most teachers for this low state of the profession is that the wages are low and they have to be involved in one economic activity or the other, to make ends meet. This excuse though justified can be wiped out with the back of the hand in that they were aware of the wages before joining the profession.
Victorine BIY
