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Shri Eswaran - A Force for Quality Education and Teachers

All India primary education coordination and leadership

In a developing nation like India, the missions S. Eswaran persevered were neither smooth nor easy. Still, his visionary leadership and focused initiatives and programs as a General Secretary from 1997 to 2014 improved the solidarity of Indian teachers within the All-India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF) and connected them to global teachers’ organisations. These national efforts were well received and directly resulted in several active movements that improved the professional conditions for teachers across India with other national leaders. His honest commitment and extraordinary dedication to the cause brought tens of thousands of state primary school teachers to show extraordinary camaraderie and solidarity. These co-ordinated movements that focused on improving the status and rights of primary teachers resulted in the gradual improvement of teachers’ quality of life both professionally and economically.

His national-level work in the All-India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF) was under the guidance and in complete synchrony with late Shri Acharya M.V. Donde and late Shri Jagdish Mishra, the founders of AIPTF. The government recognised the genuine need to support and facilitate primary education in a developing India when he was at the negotiation table rallying for support to improve the quality of education throughout his life.

Strive for literacy for a healthy future

Shri Eswaran believed in and showed that the nation’s grassroots development relied on literacy and quality primary education. Gaining continued support from all stakeholders and various government departments for teachers’ development was key to accomplishing this. Shri Eswaran was instrumental in playing a central role in achieving this in India. As a national teacher’s leader, he was quite conscious that his mission was all but massive and, therefore, always called it a movement that focused on improving primary education rather than activities to achieve short-term goals or intermittent successes.

He was a fearless leader primarily driven by his devoted commitment to the cause, i.e., improving the quality of primary education and educators. He strongly believed that primary school teachers should always focus on children’s education, retaining studentship, and enhancing learning experiences. Therefore, several movements of AIPTF and TESTF ensured the teachers were kept away from social care or other civic responsibilities. Removing the civic duties from the teachers was a defining moment for improving the quality of teachers and education on the ground level.

Expansion of work in South Asian and Asia Pacific countries

To further the horizons of the teacher’s federation’s mission and, thereby, primary education, Shri Eswaran expanded the horizon to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In the SAARC organisation, he served as Teachers Association general secretary for 6 years; within 18 years, he served as General Secretary of AIPTF. As a leader, he always showed exceptional camaraderie and fraternal spirit, which soon led to regional collaboration among teachers, synchronous sharing practices, and solutions for mutual challenges faced by primary teachers in the South Asian region. These collaborative efforts further strengthened the regional relationship and spirit of teachers in Southeast Asia.

All India primary education coordination and leadership

In a developing nation like India, the missions S. Eswaran persevered were neither smooth nor easy…..

In a developing nation like India, the missions S. Eswaran persevered were neither smooth nor easy.  Still, his visionary leadership and focused initiatives and programs as a General Secretary from 1997 to 2014 improved the solidarity of Indian teachers within the All-India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF) and connected them to global teachers’ organisations.  These national efforts were well received and directly resulted in several active movements that improved the professional conditions for teachers across India with other national leaders.  His honest commitment and extraordinary dedication to the cause brought tens of thousands of state primary school teachers to show extraordinary camaraderie and solidarity.  These co-ordinated movements that focused on improving the status and rights of primary teachers resulted in the gradual improvement of teachers’ quality of life both professionally and economically.  His national-level work in the All-India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF) was under the guidance and in complete synchrony with late Shri Acharya M.V. Donde and late Shri Jagdish Mishra, the founders of AIPTF.  The government recognised the genuine need to support and facilitate primary education in a developing India when he was at the negotiation table rallying for support to improve the quality of education throughout his life.