A teacher's job is not an easy one. Education is such an important aspect of the growth of people, and it is majorly a teacher's job to facilitate it right. Realising all the efforts of the profession, educators in the US are celebrating Teachers Appreciation Week 2018 starting from Monday, May 7 to Friday, May 11. These celebrations have been done since the year 1984. Organized by the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) it recognises and appreciates all teachers for their continuous hard work through the school year. The celebrations even have a social presence with hashtag #ThankATeacher. Many teachers working in the private sector have discounts, cash bonuses, sometimes even freebies to mark the celebrations. Taking into consideration, just this much, Indian teachers are underprivileged.

In India, there are two occasions on which teachers are respected- Guru Poornima and Teacher's Day. Guru Poornima gives ritualistic respect to the concept of Guru which means someone who is a remover of darkness in Sanskrit. This could be a spiritual teacher, and most people offer respects to past scholars and teachers. Gurus could not be just teachers, but anyone who has imbibed you with knowledge. Historically, we have had a lot of sages, which have served as teachers of religious discourse. While the Teacher's Day which is celebrated on September 5, is marked in honour of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a great scholar, philosopher and statesman. He was a renowned academic and went to become India's first vice president and second president. His birthday is thus marked as a celebration of teacher's day in the country.

While we do have these celebrations, we cannot ignore the reality our educators are made to face. The condition of teachers based in the rural parts of the country is pitiful. Some schools do not have enough students while others have no facilities. Compared to the responsibility a teacher has, the compensation is very less. A teacher is not just responsible for a single child but an entire batch of students. Cheap labour is prefered even if the school's fee structure goes in lakhs. The salaries of teachers are

In India, the teachers are not restricted to classrooms, but many of them have been made to work where they do not really belong. Several teachers have to do election duties- preside over polling centres to perform the poll duty. These duties last all day long and they are not even given proper facilities of food. It is an unpaid duty, entirely non-academic which the teachers have to perform.

Since the conditions see no change for the better, there is an apparent lack of motivation from the teachers. Over the years from being considered a respected job, people are moving away from the field of teaching. There is thus an experience dearth of good teachers, which is visibly affecting the condition of education too. There is no professional development, monetary promotions or even necessary support for the educators, who are willing to contribute to shaping tomorrow's future. While abroad celebrates a week-long teacher's appreciation event, it will indeed cause envy to all the teachers in the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 08, 2018 01:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).