There is no doubt about the importance of education for the development of a society and the children that make it up, however, in terms of wages and working conditions, such education could be being affected as a result of poor working conditions that many professors and teachers face today . And it is that, at times, it seems that education is one of the professions most forgotten by politicians in many countries, with the consequences that this has for good social development because …, there can be NO quality education with poorly paid professionals .
The salary scale for pre-school, primary and secondary school teachers is one of the lowest in the world, with few exceptions. Compared to other professions such as lawyer, doctor, engineer or politician, a teacher can hardly dream of achieving the quality of life that is obtained with other professions. This situation often causes the vocation of being a teacher to be intentionally numbed , since it is a reality that greater income is needed to achieve the material desires and professional development that would be desirable. In this way, a great human capital is lost that could contribute a lot to the education of each country.
The social conception of the teacher
It is evident that the working conditions of teachers are not the best, which means that countries do not give this profession the importance and significance that it implies, since they are the germ of future generations . Being part of such a deep profession and seeing that it is not valued as it should by society, is undoubtedly a demotivation and a slab that makes many teachers and professors cannot feel totally proud of their incredible work. This lack of social recognition means that the necessary economic and structural means are not used so that children can advance and learn with the aim of training and making the future a better world.
According to an OECD report referred to by CNN , the status of a teacher is as important as the salary they earn, and that depends on the culture of society. Asian countries such as China, Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan have great respect for their elders and teachers, and this places them in a privileged place within society. In Europe, Finland is the country with the best education in the world, where they care not only about their salary, but also about their status. Being a teacher in this country is not an easy matter, but the one who arrives differs from his colleagues in the rest of the world by the important degree of masters that he obtains.
But then … where is the root of the problem in this situation? Well, probably, as we said, that root is in society’s conception of teachers and professors . Perhaps it would be important to reflect on this, especially on the part of parents, and begin to understand that the role of teachers and teachers should not be seen as just another profession, but as the backbone of the rest of the professions. After all, this is where the doctors, lawyers, engineers and other professionals who will drive the world tomorrow come from.
All these insights lead us back to the question that started this article: is it possible to have a quality education with poorly paid professionals ? Perhaps it could be, but the country or region that decides to do so, will risk that its educational professionals are demotivated and lose that effectiveness that they should have for the sake of the little ones. Can the world afford, then, to continue reviling education as it has been doing until now?
