RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Peoples Party leader and President of the Progressive Welfare Organisation, Muhammad Aamir Siddiqui, has said that the darkness of ignorance can only be eliminated through the light of knowledge, and teachers are the source through which this light is transferred to the nation.
Speaking to workers on World Teachers’ Day, he said that society could achieve the goals of development, progress and prosperity only by benefiting from education. He said that just as acquiring knowledge is obligatory for every man and woman, respect for teachers is also a duty.
“Our teachers are our pride, and this day demands that we pay tribute to their services,” he said.
Aamir Siddiqui said that in Islam, a teacher enjoys the status of a spiritual father. After parents, he said, it is the teacher who fulfils the responsibility of educating and training a child.
He said a teacher is the person who turns iron into gold, carves stone into a diamond and irrigates barren land to turn it into a field. In a civilised society, he added, teachers are provided the best facilities, honour and respect.
Referring to the saying of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), “Indeed, I have been sent as a teacher,” he said knowledge is the legacy of the prophets and teachers guide the nation towards the right path while adorning it with the jewel of education.
Aamir Siddiqui said teachers brighten the past and make the present and future glorious. He said World Teachers’ Day calls for recognition of the services of teachers and an expression of deep love and devotion for them.
He said respect for teachers beautifies life and brings life to educational institutions, adding that the beauty of society and noble ideals are the result of teachers’ hard work.
He stressed the need to address the problems being faced by teachers, whom he described as the builders of the nation. He said they should be provided timely salaries, pensions and other benefits in accordance with contemporary requirements, while their services and status must be protected.
He said teachers should not be compelled to protest for their rights.
Aamir Siddiqui observed that while the private sector had brought a revolution in the education system and charged heavy fees for educating children, many institutions forced highly educated teachers to teach on meagre salaries.
“If this is not injustice, then what is?” he asked.
He said nations that forget their benefactors never progress, and there could be no benefactor greater than a teacher. “We can reach heights only by giving teachers honour and respect,” he said.
