Ahead of Teachers' Day this Saturday, Namita Panda and Anwesha Ambaly of The Telegraph find out what teachers of different generations feel about the profession and the education scenario then and now.

From formal attire of their choice to an enforced uniform and from promises of raised pay to complaints of pending salaries, there are many things a teacher in the state has to take care of apart from imparting education.

While at a state-level event, chief minister Naveen Patnaik will present awards to teachers for their contribution to the society and their annual performance, only a few days ago, thousands of teaching staff members from block grant schools were seen agitating vigorously on the streets demanding abolishment of the block grant system in which their pay scale remains same throughout their career.

Teachers of different generations see the treatment towards teachers and the scene of education from different perspectives.

"In our times, teachers were like parents or family members and had a strong bond with the students. We had the right not only to scold them, but also to take interest in the progress of academics of each of our students. Today, it is all about a job for salary and a commercial profession. Students are given assignments that their parents complete since it is obviously beyond the understanding of a child. But, all that is seen is that these assignments were given and children got them done. The education system has deteriorated," said retired high school mathematics teacher Ananta Charan Pati, who had recently received the award for popularisation of mathematics from the Odisha Mathematical Society.

"People preferred sending children to government schools because the teachers could be trusted and were experienced. Thus, these schools churned out achievers in various fields. But today, we get to hear shameful acts by teachers at state-run schools," he said.

Another retired teacher, Sandhyarani Mohanty, agreed to this.

"The sincerity in today's generation of teachers has definitely declined. Teachers do not command respect any more, but this is because of parents and teachers who do not mould children well and train them that all success lies in using smartphones and technology and the capacity to buy them. They do not focus on character building any more," she said.

However, she feels that the agitation is inevitable since teachers are promised higher pays but do not get it. "I retired in 2012 and got an increment order for six years some time ago. But, I am yet to get the revised pension," said Mohanty.

Teachers of the present generation believe that they do not get their due.

Block Grant Secondary School Teachers and Employees' Association president Prashant Mohapatra said: "The state government is giving more emphasis on how to deceive teachers rather than trying to solve their problems. Unless the teachers are provided with proper benefits, they will never be interested in their job, and the government should realise that."

Chittaranjan Misra, professor of English at BJB College, feels that the relationship between the bureaucracy and the teaching class is quite complicated.

"Many a time, the teachers are asked to do things beyond their purview. We get involved in a number of non-teaching things such as handling the grievance cell and quality assurance programmes, among others. All these are good but it is challenging and diminishes the quality of teaching at times," said Misra.