Flowery lingua

An Urdu teacher can teach the language in school, college, academy or private institutes. An increasing number of local and international students desirous of learning the language calls for many more Urdu teachers.

The lowdown
An Urdu teacher can teach the language in school, college, academy or private institutes. An increasing number of local and international students desirous of learning the language calls for many more Urdu teachers. Urdu is a rich language and is often used by thinkers and philosophers. It is an attractive language because of its lovely pronunciations. Only a person familiar with Urdu can pronounce Kha, Gha, and Qaaf.

A couplet of Urdu can define the whole situation of history, politics or any kind of incident. Teaching Urdu is different from teaching any other language. One has to update one’s knowledge every day and spend as much time as possible reading or writing

Clockwork
8am: Read at least one Urdu newspaper apart from one English/Hindi daily
8:15am: Start class
10am: Break
11am: Next class
Noon: Lunch
1:30 pm: Resume class
2pm: Leave for home
4pm: Read Urdu literature

The payoff
After the 6th pay commission’s revision of pay scales of teachers, the pay prospects are better for an Urdu teacher at the university level. The starting salary of a professor is around Rs 46,000 a month plus allowances and the salary of a middle and high school teacher is about Rs 15,000- Rs 20,00 a month

Skills/TRAITS
* Great command over Urdu language and literature with impressive speaking and writing skills

Getting there
One should have a good academic record and should qualify NET with relevant subjects. This is the minimum qualification required as per the UGC norms. Apart from this, a degree, preferably a master’s in philosophy or a PhD in philosophy is necessary . There is an advertisement with eligibility conditions for vacant posts, for this one has to apply within the required period. After this, the university calls the eligible candidates for an interview before the selection committee

Institutes and URLs
* BA and MA in Urdu from Jamia Millia Islamia www.jmi.ac.in
* BA/MA/ diploma/ certificate in Urdu from University of Delhi www.du.ac.in
* BA/MA in Urdu from Osmania University www.osmania.ac.in
* BA/ MA in Urdu from Aligarh Muslim University www.amu.ac.in

HT Image

Pros and cons
* You get to learn while you teach
* Students whose first language is Urdu usually score over their non-Urdu medium counterparts

Urdu teaching is a respected profession. It boosts your knowledge, gives you fame and respect in the society Tauquir Ahmad Khan, head, Department of Urdu, University of Delhi