At a time when teachers, including those from State-run schools, are quitting their jobs to join IT and ITES sectors, there are many professionals who are also giving up lucrative jobs to become teachers.
It’s the passion for teaching that prompts many to quit well-paid jobs and for some, it’s their parents who inspire them to take up teaching as a profession.
“It was my father who inspired me to take up teaching,” says N Jalajakshi, an Assistant Headmistress in Government Lower Primary School (GLPS), Veeranahalli who took up teaching after a short stint as a lawyer. “My father told me that there’s a lot of respect for teachers and I don’t have to send my children to tuitions and instead teach them on my own,” she laughs. “Earlier, I was working as a lawyer for a year in Bangalore. Later, I decided to take up teaching. Today, I am enjoying teaching for primary classes,” she adds.
M Manjula, an engineer from Davangere worked as a production engineer in Bangalore for two years. “In my family, all are teachers. After working for two years, I realised that my passion lies in teaching. I joined as a mathematics teacher in GLPS, Byatarayanapura....I feel that I have contributed to the society,” she says.
Then, there are those who even after completing their PhD want to continue teaching in primary classes. They feel their qualification will add value to their teachings and inspire children to take up teaching or research. They opine if more teachers from research or other profession start teaching the quality of teaching will shoot up.
R Renuka, a primary school teacher, was awarded PhD in Kannada for her thesis ‘War in Kannada Poetry’ from Bangalore University. “My research has improvised my teachings as I have managed to arouse interest among students in literature. The personality of the people who have studied is entirely different - they are calm and have lot of patience. My research has enabled me to provide more information on Kannada,”she says.
For N Ravindranath, currently pursuing PhD (Kannada) on ‘Education and Literature’ from Hampi University, says there are many areas in Kannada which are not covered in the school syllabi. “I don’t want to pursue my career as a researcher as I am committed to teaching. I want to use my knowledge to help the students in better understanding of the subject,” he adds.