National prosperity is linked to education and good teachers hold the key. Much more than bombs and missiles, India needs weapons of learning in the form of motivated, committed teachers.

Teaching as a profession has undergone a revolutionary change. With the challenge of reaching out to the 47 per cent illiterate in the country, the focus of education planners has been on literacy, adult education, extension education and distance education programmes to bring learning within the reach of all.

However, a great challenge also lies in the changing role of the Indian education system which leaves much to be desired. A yawning gap exists between pedagogic progress and its actual translation. The image of teaching, too, has suffered. Teachers are criticised for falling standards of achievement and discipline,but educational planners fail to recognise the fact that this is so because most teachers are over-stressed, underpaid and under-valued.

Yet, in India, a career in teaching continues to be regarded as a noble profession and there are still many people who believe in teaching as a career. For them, the satisfaction of having sparked the light of knowledge and dispelled the clouds of ignorance in another human being, old or young, is unrivalled. Other reasons for opting for a career in teaching could be interest in the subject, secure professional career and regular annual vacations. Fringe benefits such as accommodation at nominal rent, subsidized fees for the children of teachers, pension and gratuity are often other attractions.

Teaching as a career has attracted large numbers of women. It offers them an opportunity to do a professional job during school hours and term time, and be at home during children's vacations.

Teaching can also be a second career for those who have retired from professionalservice.

In recent years, education has become big business. The tribulations in obtaining a seat even at the elementary school level, the amount of money charged as school fees and the mushrooming of private tutorials and institutes offering coaching classes for professional short and long term courses indicate the various demands of education today. There are several areas of work in a teaching career. These include teachers at the elementary school level, trained graduate teachers and post-graduate teachers at the secondary and senior secondary school levels. At higher educational levels there are posts for lecturers in colleges, readers and professors in universities, as well as administrators, supervisors, consultants and researchers.

The work of a teacher varies according to the level of the job and the institution. At the nursery level, the teacher is responsible for social, emotional and intellectual growth of children, and acts as a kind of surrogate parent, while in junior school, teachersinstruct one or more groups of students between ages 7-12 and normally take their classes for all subjects. The secondary school teacher instructs students in junior and senior school, normally in a specific subject and therefore needs a good grounding in the subject. Most secondary school teachers have responsibilities in addition to their subject teaching such as social education programmes and a range of extra-curricular activities from sports and drama to school outings. Good teachers also need to attend refresher courses to update and evaluate their work and their approaches to it.

In a college or university, a lecturer and instructor delivers lectures to a class of students, and devotes time to research and writing and publishing articles, while a reader in a university spends a considerable amount of time on research activities and guiding students in research projects.

Some teachers branch off from the teaching path to become administrators, to supervise the functioning of their educationalinstitutions. Here the primary task is school management. It includes planning of time-tables, utilising of teacher's talents, organising school activities, interacting with parents and educational authorities.

Entry

There are varying educational requirements for the different levels of teaching.

A graduate with a nursery training certificate/diploma or degree can qualify for nursery or primary school teaching. Preference is given to those trained for pre-school education, such as Montessori pattern.

For junior schools the eligibility requirement is a graduate or a postgraduate degree with 55 per cent marks and with a diploma or degree in teaching/education. In addition, the candidate must have studied at least one of the teaching subjects during graduation. A post-graduate degree in the subject and a B.Ed degree is the basic requirement for secondary and senior secondary school teachers. The age limit for recruitment is normally 40 years, and preference is given to those with teachingexperience. A lecturer or instructor in college needs to have a post-graduate degree with a certificate of eligibility for lecturership from the University Grants Commission. A Ph.D with exper- ience as tutor is also eligible, while a PH.D with three years' experience as lecturer/assistant professor is the basic requirement for a reader's post.

A professor in a university department must be a Ph.D holder with at least ten year's experience in teaching, of which five years must be as assistant professor. Besides the schools and colleges within the regular educational system, there are a growing number of institutions catering to the special requirements of children with specific learning disabilities, and physical or mental handicaps.

The work here is emotionally and physically demanding, and so specialised training is required in dealing with these specific problems. Those who take up this profession, must also be sensitive to needs of the children, and have some experience of teaching normalchildren.

Most universities in the country offer degrees in education for the physically or mentally handicapped etc. These diploma courses are available to those with some teaching experience or a Bachelor's degree. Some institutions offer a B.Ed with special focus on particular subjects such as science or maths teaching.

It is often assumed that anybody with the right educational qualifications can take up teaching. However, there are certain qualities that make for a good teacher -- these are enthusiasm for learning and teaching, a sense of fair play, patience and enthusiasm, self-discipline, correct skills and organising ability. There is no strict career structure in teaching. Some teachers take on additional administrative assignments in a school, which could pave the way for assuming charge of Vice Principal/Principal. However, designations and functions are not consistent and depend on the character of the teaching institution.

One of the major disincentives for young people to join the teachingcareer has been the low salary structure. However, after the several Pay Commission recommendations, salaries of teachers in schools and colleges have become fairly attractive, particularly given the working hours and holidays. Moreover, this is one area where government pay scales are generally higher than private institutions, many of which run with lowly-paid, under-qualified and over worked teachers. Some schools have schemes like Contributory Provident Fund, DA, insurance, gratuity, medical reimbursement, etc.

Future ProspectsTeaching is one of the more flexible professions. It permits career-breaks and late entries. It is particularly suitable for married women who may want to take a break when their children are still young. Teachers who return on a regular full-time or part-time basis are entitled to be paid at a scale no lower than that at which they left off.

There are also other avenues open to teachers. Giving tuitions on a full-time or part-time basis is an attractive alternative.Tutorial classes have come up in a big way in all the large towns and cities, as educational needs expand and schools with large numbers in every class are unable to provide the detailed attention required by students preparing for competitive exams. Teachers who run these tutorial classes are normally who have experience in teaching in schools or colleges, or even retired from service. As there are no fixed rates for classes, teachers of tutorial classes earn as much as the market can sustain. Those with administrative experience can open their own school or institution. There also ample research opportunities in the form of research scholarships and fellowships for those inclined towards private study.

-- The writer is the producer of the TV serial `Hum Honge Kaamyaab', and a news presenter on Doordarshan