In recent times, several incidents have made headlines, where members of the teaching community, the so-called people-builders, were found to be harassed. Many of them were physically abused, some of them faced imprisonment, while others were removed from the world forever. There has been a lot of discussion, criticism, condemnation, and protest about these incidents. People have analysed and are judging these incidents from different angles. However, whatever the cause may be, the bottom line is that some members of our teaching community, who are respected and venerated by all in the society, have become physically and mentally deranged.
We have always chanted that education is the backbone of the nation. No one has ever heard of any nation progressing in this world without progress in education. Therefore, from time immemorial in every society, educated people have been getting special value. An example of the high status of the teacher in the Eastern Society can be found in the poem titled ‘??????????????????’ (‘The Dignity of the Teacher’) by the poet Kazi Quader Newaj, where we see the great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb Alamgir, calling the teacher of his sonto express his disappointment about his son’s courteousness after seeing him not washing his teacher’s feet with his own hands but pouring water only. Even today, in a large section of society, teachers are not only respected by students, but also by their guardians. Here, not only exchange of knowledge takes place between the teacher and student, but a kind of spiritual relationship develops. In such a society, if you see a teacher being physically abused, is it not normal that your forehead will fold in worry?
So, what happened that such a teacher-minded society like ours suddenly fell into the trap of teacher neglect? What deserves special consideration here is whether such incidents have happened before, or have they suddenly started happening recently? Is it the case that these things have been going on for a long time, but recently the rate of such incidents has only increased? Or is it like that though the teachers were not physically abused this way, they have been saving their dignity for quite some time by saving the mind of a class of goons in disguise of students? Is the case like that not only ordinary teacher, but even the seemingly powerful people like head teachers or principals are forced to spend their days in kind of miserable conditions? The affairs of clever and intelligent people are definitely different. They can carry on with these goons in such a way that it seems that there is no difficulty at all. In the eyes of many, this kind of performance might be the pinnacle of efficient management, but the victims do understand how difficult it is to bear day after day the deep pain hidden behind compromising in silence on the question of honour.
On the other hand, some feel like that you may also find many smart faculties who cherish these goons to cover up their irregularities and fulfil their unfair ambitions. They then play like a duo as each other’s friends. Many people also think that sometimes the faculties of schools and colleges are forced to keep these hooligans for strategic reasons for their protection against various local and non-local pressures. Sometimes you might also see that those mischievous guys are just being used, the real trouble is in the teachers themselves, who are putting oil on the heads of those guys to endanger each other. Finally, the Big Brothers of the area often nurture a group of these brats to achieve their vested interests, many observe.
However, what is important is that any such incident should be taken seriously, and its underlying cause should be sought. In the light of the above discussion, it would not be unrealistic to think that in many places there has been an uncomfortable atmosphere for teachers for quite some time. However, it must be said that a system was in place for the teachers to somehow manage things in order to maintain their dignity. Now what happened suddenly that the miscreants started attacking them physically? Is it a new stage of pre-existing degradation, or the result of the addition of some new elements to it? An unbiased hair-splitting analysis of each case is required rather than simply lumping everything together in a linear fashion. It is necessary to understand whether the problem is unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral. Are bullied teachers necessarily victims of bullying, or are there some unwanted changes in them that are causing a strong reaction in some of the victimized students?
In some cases, there are allegations of political or communal links to the incidents. For example, the victims being belonged to the minority community in several recent incidents, it is claimed from various quarters that the teachers affected have been harassed on communal grounds. On the other hand, there are counter allegations that they have hurt the sentiments of the majority community through some of their activities. The recent allegation that the principal of a college in Rajshahi region was physically assaulted by a local member of parliament, if true, is certainly a cause for concern. On the other hand, it has been seen in some cases that, even if a political or religious issue is brought forward to harass a teacher, it is not the real reason but just an excuse. The vested quarter was angry with the person concerned for some reason and was looking for a way to discipline him. Sometimes, it has also been seen that the incident is the result of a personal rivalry, but it is being campaigned on a political or communal basis.
Whatever the case may be, in the larger interest of the nation it is important to ensure a calm, benign and safe environment in our educational institutions. Why the traditional respect and dignity of teachers is under threat today must be found out through dispassionate analysis and impartial investigation and necessary initiatives must be taken to deal with it. Regardless of the teacher and student, who is responsible for the incident should be confirmed. Attempts to divert events for ulterior political or communal interests, in other words — to shift blame to other people, will leave the real problem and its root cause unmarked. This will make it difficult to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. Keep in mind that a problem can get out of control later if proper measures are not taken to solve it at the initial stage.

The Writer is Professor and Chairman, Department of Pharmacy, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka.