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For Shehzad Roy, learning from teachers with no specialised training or education is 'dangerous'

For Shehzad Roy, learning from teachers with no specialised training or education is 'dangerous'

The singer questioned why parents are okay with their children learning from teachers who haven't studied the science of teaching.
09 Sep, 2021

Singer Shehzad Roy recently highlighted the absence of qualified teachers in Pakistan in an informative video shared on social media.

Durbeen, a non-profit organisation established with 'the goal of improving public schools in Pakistan', shared a video of Roy on their Instagram account. "Singer and humanitarian, Shehzad Roy, shares his thoughts on the significance of teachers' rigorous education in teaching and extensive training to ensure students’ academic achievement," read the caption.

In the video, Roy highlighted the importance of learning from well qualified teachers. "Let's say someone shares with you that their father has had a heart attack and the doctor is now recommending a heart bypass surgery," the singer said. "Would you recommend a chartered account by saying 'he's done some amazing diploma courses and he recently fixed my friend's leg when he broke it, you should get your father's surgery done from him as well'?" he asked.

"[If someone said this to you], you'd get worried for a second and question the statement," he continued. "The fact of the matter is, a chartered accountant cannot perform surgery on anyone given that he's specialised in something else entirely. He needs to have specialised degree in the area of surgery."

Roy argued that parents and state authorities don't hold teachers to a higher standard the way they hold doctors. "In Pakistan, parents send their children to school every morning to learn from teachers who have not studied the science of teaching," he argued. "If you ask private schools, they'll say we've made our teachers do such and such short courses. When it takes a doctor four years of studying to earn his specialisation, why do parents send their children to teachers who've done meagre courses and have very limited experience in developing the mind of the children they teach? They haven't earned a degree in the science of teaching, they haven't studied it. We need to understand that the practice of teaching is a science in itself.

"This is a very dangerous development. Even the government has decided that anyone can become a teacher, regardless of whatever degree they've earned," the singer stressed.

"I request parents and the authorities to check up whether a particular teacher has studied the science of teaching. Have they done a four-year degree programme? Do they have a Bachelors in Education? I want the debate on this issue to start from today," he said.

Roy is the founder of Zindagi Trust, a non-profit organisation that works to improve the quality of education in public schools through various reforms.

Comments

Citizen Sep 09, 2021 06:06pm
Only raising problems without solutions. Please run schools in rural areas on ZOOM from well qualified teachers which may run on solar energy. Ensure attendance of enrolled students then see results with same education for all.
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zebswati Sep 09, 2021 06:07pm
100% Agreed
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Jamil Soomro, New York City Sep 09, 2021 06:18pm
Excellent comparison by Shezad Roy of a qualified Teacher and a Doctor. Children are quite impressionable at young age and not providing them competent Teachers at that age is totally injustice. Well said. Parents should surely pay attention to his advice.
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Faisal Ahmad Sep 09, 2021 06:58pm
Because Roy boy they don't have the choice, and aren't as privileged as you are to choose between teachers and institutions.
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Tahir Raouf Sep 09, 2021 08:51pm
Same is the case in music and pop industry
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Abdul Sep 09, 2021 09:18pm
Even with a degree there are several professional institutions which do not have any standard of education and admission criteria, specially those in interior sindh and at other remote schools in villages. They were not even qualified to get admission, so when they get degree, and some job with sources they crumble to society. Maximum politicians are without degree what do you think of that. How can you make changes since the very people who change law are without degree.
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Nawaz Sep 09, 2021 10:12pm
So according to him education itself is dangerous in Pakistan as nobody is trained. I think the dangerous thing is the gap between these intellectuals and ground realities.
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Tanvir Khan Sep 09, 2021 10:20pm
Brainwashed parents inevitably send their children to Brainwashers ... because social conformity requires being like everyone else !!!
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Bila Sep 09, 2021 11:10pm
This so called children's rights activists is totally ignorant of the ground realities of our educational system. Instead of focusing and targeting teachers time and again he should visit to a few rural schools of KP , Balochistan and Sind. Most of them are deprived of the basic facilities. Highly qualified and professional teachers have been hired by the KP govt in the last few years but these are still not sufficient. Besides this rooms, furniture and clean water are not available in many schools. There are two and in some cases three classes accommodated in a single room. Teaching to three classes in a single room is nearly impossible.
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Sheeraz Ali Sep 09, 2021 11:55pm
Paying lip service. Nothing has been done pragmatically.
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Aiza Sep 10, 2021 01:47am
How can this guy look like a teenager for the last 35 years??
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Ibrahim S Sep 10, 2021 01:58am
You can’t expect a country to progress and get better education if there are more seminaries and no public libraries . Mind is like a parachute if doesn’t work unless it’s open
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Khan Sep 10, 2021 05:43am
Here is the problem, what’s the solution. Teachers are not highly paid. Need to train them is instant. It’s better to start with levelled learning programs distributed in short courses with credits that will ultimately lead to complete degree. The program can easily be copied from US system and tailored while focusing local needs and teacher’s capacity to absorb and apply. Govt is broke so some world bank loan can work to finanace the program at state level.
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Syed Nazim Sep 10, 2021 07:07am
Teachers are not given due respect in Pakistan society except few who run coaching centres. Al though king pin in raising experts in all fields ,we have never seen a teacher elected to parliament. On the contrary our assemblies are stuffed with feudal who are anti education. For a large un checked population there are no resources to raise teachers. There is no hope in a country run by feudal.
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CP Sep 10, 2021 08:32am
Get Sindh govt to remove ghost teachers and improve schools. First we need teachers in govt schools, we can talk about teacher trainings next.
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Akil Akhtar Sep 10, 2021 08:58am
We lack professionalism in every sphere of life in Pakistan from top political leadership to a teacher in primary school.....
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Sam Sep 10, 2021 12:13pm
Shahzad Roy should work on technical training for poor kids.
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