IN TIMES like this, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will definitely have no problem recruiting enough teachers. However, this may be a mixed blessing.

We often hear of complaints that the quality of hawker food has deteriorated. When jobs are hard to come by, many who have neither the skill nor the passion for cooking become hawkers.

A similar deterioration in the teaching profession will have far more disastrous consequences. Teachers, like all other human beings, need jobs. But teaching, like nursing and other professions, is more than a job. We have no doubt that, among the recruits, many will become excellent and even indispensable teachers. But still, some worries linger.

The first requirement for a teacher is professionalism. He must know child psychology, pedagogy, classroom management and MOE policies, among other things. These can be obtained from training. But one who is merely professional is at best a teaching technician, not a teacher.

The second requirement is passion. He must be fired up about the subjects he is teaching and itching to imbue his students with the same passion. But one who is professional and passionate is at best a hobbyist. He is still not a teacher.

The most important requirement is to be compassionate. He must love his students and go beyond training them to pass examinations to see them as human beings with the potential for development, although this is easier said than done. So only one who is professional, passionate and compassionate is a true teacher.

There is a Chinese adage: 'A teacher is a model. His every speech and every action are worthy of being examples.' A teacher is more than a celebrity in the entertainment or political world. Very often, he is a parent in fact, if not in name.

If teachers are not well-paid, many who can be teachers choose not to be. If they are well-paid, many who should not be teachers try to be. Let us hope that, among the recruits, there will be many teachers - well-paid teachers, of course.

Ee Teck Ee

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 3 Jan, 2009.