The Shadow Education Secretary, Tristram Hunt, has suggested that teachers should take a public oath committing themselves to the values of their profession. This would "elevate" the status of the profession. He thinks that the pledge would emphasise the "moral calling of the noble profession of teaching" It would be similar to the Hippocratic Oath which places duties and obligations on physicians and is taken by some doctors prior to beginning medical practice, thus affirming their obligations and proper conduct. Hippocrates was a Greek physician of the 5th century. It is okay for doctors to take such an oath as they hold the lives of their patients in their hands. Or for lawyers as an innocent person may get unnecessarily convicted if his case is falsely represented. One wonders however whether it is for the teachers or the students who should be made to swear that they will obey their teachers and will not be disruptive or aggressive towards their teachers. The respect which was given to the teachers or “gurus” in the past is lacking in these days. Many students now-a-days take their teachers and education for granted and in the absence of corporal punishment show little respect for their teachers. In fact teachers are afraid of their students. I was a teacher of Mathematics in Dar-es-Salaam for a while and it was a pleasure to teach the students who would be eager to learn and had the greatest respect for their teachers.
Dinesh Sheth
Newbury Park, Ilford
