Devi Kar | How ethics is now evolving: Are there new rules & norms to suit our times?

Ethics should govern all institutions and organisations, including schools. They ensure fairness, respect and accountability. Some issues of right and wrong are of course perennial but over the years ethics have evolved to suit the circumstances and times. Nevertheless, each successive generation complains of the sharp decline of ethical standards and erosion of values since their times. We should perhaps halt and introspect to discover where we are headed; whether we have compromised our principles for personal gain or whether we have a new ethical framework to suit our times.

Ethics governing teachers and students in school have largely remained intact. Honesty, fairness, justice, impartiality are definitely valued. Cheating, plagiarism, bullying, lying and stealing are still frowned upon. However, I find that the finer ethical issues are often ignored. Should question-paper setters tutor pupils or write textbooks for board examinations? Should powerful people get schools to admit their candidates ahead of other deserving ones?

I remember how proudly the smiling driving school instructor assured me my daughter would definitely get her driving licence as he knew the authorities well. He didn’t realise I wasn’t happy. If my daughter was indeed unfit to drive, giving her a licence would result in risking her own life and that of others.

On plagiarism, I understand our school examiners don’t penalise students for reproducing verbatim from textbooks. The concept of plagiarism is thus not reinforced except by schools that follow certain international board mandates.

School leaders usually ensure the faculty are well-versed in the set of ethics their school follows. Grey areas are always there but an individual usually has her own moral compass within the school-mandated ethical structure. Yet at times, I am taken aback by the way people rationalise their actions which would be generally considered “wrong”. I suppose this is the normal thing to address the discomfort of cognitive and emotional dissonance within one.

Just as some manners are a demonstration of consideration for others, certain ethical principles are a matter of sensitivity. For example, singling out groups (perhaps financially-aided ones or financially privileged ones whose families have given large donations to the institution) may not be considered an ethical practice if the school believes in equity and uniform dealings. “Diversity” is becoming a bad word in Donald Trump’s America, once considered a melting pot or a dream country. In Narendra Modi’s India too, many Hindus feel that at last their superior status is being officially recognised.

In the teachers’ manual or handbook, there are all kinds of instructions comprising rules, school practices, ethics (related to work and morality) and professional duties such as regular attendance, punctuality, respectful working relations with colleagues and seniors, unbiased dealings with students, appropriate interaction with parents, and so on. So, an aspect of professionalism too is associated with ethics.

Coming to the integrity and character of a school, it is known to the public which schools indulge in underhand activities. Some schools use their “legacy” or “reputation” as a coveted school to extract enormous amounts of money under the table to admit a child.

A word must be included about the dubious annual awards given by publications and various bodies. In some cases, the purpose is the publicity earned by the award givers and in others, it is the substantial revenue that is derived from fees that are charged for featuring the individual awardee or school in the publication.

Are these awards truly deserved?

Brand new schools have taken to the unethical practice of “poaching” as good, qualified teachers are hard to come by. I have seen how shamelessly and relentlessly a school uses its head-hunters to lure school leaders as well as teachers with money, perks and fancy designations. But I have also heard people remark on the tenacity and admirable initiative that the school is demonstrating in this competitive world. I feel differently. Perhaps the feeling can be likened to that of a neighbour whose prize home-help is being offered all kinds of financial and other allurements by an NRI family to work for them. What happens is that the economic structure and delicate balance in the system gets upset when people who earn in dollars throw their money around to get what they want.

The impact on teachers is disgraceful to some of us but seems justifiable to others. When a job offer is made to any teacher, the first thing she or he says now is: “In this industry (sic) the norm is a 20-30 per cent hike over your current salary if you make a change”. I know of a teacher who signed on the dotted line and didn’t turn up and I heard (but did not bother to verify its authenticity) that the gentleman in question used the offer letter as a bargaining tool in another school. I wonder why anyone should employ someone who does not know the meaning of “commitment”. In hindsight, I wish we had sued the person in question. It is not right to let people get away so easily after such a serious breach of a written contract.

Having given a graphic description of the behaviour, attitude and practices of today’s teachers and schools, it is for the reader to decide whether these have been driven by the times and whether it is fair to sit in judgment of those who are demonstrating such conduct and attitude. After all, they are focused on their goals -- the commercialised schools on the bottom line (above all other factors) and individuals on their aspirations (read “career paths” or “earnings”).

The question that remains to be answered is: Do some of us try to stem the tide or do we just accept what is happening as “the signs of the times?”

The writer is a veteran school educator based in Kolkata