The value of learning

Victor Hugo, the famous French novelist, writes: “He who opens a school door, closes a prison”. Ashfaq Ahmed once narrated a famous incident in Italy in one of his books about the time when he had to go to a court for not paying a traffic fine. When the judge asked him why he hadn’t paid the fine, Ahmed stated that he was a teacher and was busy. The judge said: “A teacher is in court”. Upon hearing this, everyone present gave a standing ovation to Ahmed. He concluded his story by adding that reverence for teachers is the prime reason for the progress that took place in European countries. In our country, unfortunately, there is no respect for teachers. It was perhaps for countries like ours that Jacques Barzun, an eminent American historian, said: “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition”. Here, even the death of Sargodha University’s CEO Mian Javed Ahmed in custody and the images of him in handcuffs could not shake the nation’s conscience.

Saad Malook

Lahore