This year, world teacher’s day is being commemorated under the theme “The transformation of education begins with teachers”.
Year in year out, the vital role played by teachers in grooming young minds and setting the stage for their future is recognized. But just like Ruth Moyeh, an English language teacher in GSS Bangope, Littoral Region says, the work of teachers cannot be sufficiently rewarded. “We go to great lengths to transform the minds of students who otherwise would have preferred to remain in their homes or farmsteads. I teach children who do not see the need to learn another language than the French they already know. They see this as a burden and so my job becomes extra challenging when I have to throw in mechanisms to convince these children of the importance of learning the English language.” For someone who has left her family in another region to go fulfill her duties in a far off land, it is rewarding when the students are enthusiastic and open to learn but it is not the case. “In a village as remote as this, I have to develop new and interesting strategies to motivate students and these are extra efforts which cannot be remunerated” Ruth Moyeh explains. To her, teachers provide the power of education to today’s youth, thereby giving them the possibility for a better future. They simplify the complex, and make abstract concepts accessible to students. They also have the daunting task of exposing children to ideas and topics that they might otherwise not have come into contact with.
For this teacher, passion alone doesn’t keep her in the job. Her quest is to give the children the chance they need to explore new avenues in a world that is constantly changing.
Despite several measures put in place by government to ameliorate working conditions for these chalk masters, challenges abound. As teachers struggle to give students the necessary tools to take responsibility for themselves and others, authorities also need to ensure that grievances tabled are looked into with prompt solutions provided.
Teachers all over Cameroon are today being celebrated for transforming education at a time when their very own lives are threatened by their students due to decaying moral standards. As much as it is a day to celebrate how teachers are transforming education it is also pertinent to reflect on the support they need to fully deploy their talent and vocation, and to rethink the way ahead for the profession.
Claudette Chin
