Corruption in a noble profession

By Fazal Akbar

Corruption is an illegal, bad or dishonest behaviour, especially by people in positions of power. Almost everyone is having power at his disposal, in one or the other way albeit, but it varies with respect to its nature and the capacity of person.

We have kept out eyes peeled on the Supreme Court verdict about Panama leaks case driven by the media hype these days, as if corruption practised by top brass only. I wonder how much productive it would have been if everyone among us had taken a time out for soul-searching in relation to our moral, legal, professional, social and other obligations. To me, this little effort would bring home the point how much each individual beyond reproach is. Nobody is above board.

A physician, teacher, on duty official, student, leader, shopkeeper, driver et al. If we just run our eyes on the fair play in our social affairs, we will come across myriad cases of corruption which have been part and parcel of our daily life and this menace is deep rooted in our culture. Teaching is a noble profession. Given the sanctity of this vocation, in our society, one can hardly conceive of corruption committed by a teacher. It is a bitter pill to swallow that this profession is not free of this peril; rather it overshadows all other types of corruption. To substantiate it, I recall my matriculation examination back in 2009.

On the second day of examination, I was summoned by the head teacher of the school where examination was conducted. When I produced myself the teacher brazenly asked me to collect Rs.200 from the students of my school and deposit it in the office. The purpose was to manage accommodation and facilitate invigilators with amenities who were deployed in the examination centre. The total number of students taking exams in that centre, according to my estimation, would not be less than three hundred and fifty. Multiplying the amount with the number of students gives a huge amount of money-a price payed by the students for being born in remote and backward area of Chitral.

Aren’t the invigilators disbursed for their extra service? If they do, then what were they charging for? Isn’t it a corruption? The teacher’s response to my query reveals astonishing account of social evils other than corruption like intimidation and favouritism, emanating from a noble profession.

He said,”If you don’t comply, you will be shifted to a separate hall where the invigilators will be hard on you and the rest of the students will be provided with loose, unrestrained and supportive environment.” Isn’t it a corruption on account of such people as have pledged to build a nation? Isn’t it a favouritism on account of a teacher who is a spiritual father of his students? Doesn’t this intimidation force a juvenile’s mind to consider these malpractices as an integral part of human life and as normal as necessary for a society to exist? Isn’t it a disgrace to a profession upon which the holy prophet Muhammad took pride.

These chronicles in the upbringing of a student make him indifferent to all other sorts of corruption being practised around him. A teacher builds a nation. We can’t help a nation sinking when we have teachers hands-on in various malpractices. The wrongdoings emanating from a teacher become entrenched in a young mind and its impact is long lasting. The anecdote I mentioned above is just a break fast. There are many other underlying malpractices witnessed everyday. Shirking of responsibility is one of them. All these practice carried out particularly by a teacher will only serve shatter the basic foundations of a society. Absence of coverage should not imply the non-being of corruption; neither turning a blind eye on it will be of any help to root out this peril.

Therefore, a bottom up approach will at the least help us understand how much every one is above board in its individual capacity. It is also imperative that step be taken by civil society to make sure that such practices do not happen again especially during the examination. Corruption is one way to look at this picture not to mention all other secondary fallout.