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my/opinion/columnists/over-the-top/2022/04/12/the-professor-and-the-student
I would like to share the opinion about this that I have come to hold after 17 years as a
professor and 35 years as an academician. And I hope this week’s column will not
only interest readers but also provoke thought among the young generation of
academicians and professors and those thinking of pursuing this vocation.
For instance, I would question why must God have a big and expensive house of
worship? God does not live in one and has no need for thermal comfort or shelter
from the rain. So all those huge houses of worship are possibly built to show the
political power the clergy has over the masses and a secular administration.
The key word there is “possibly”. What if the real idea of spiritual heights is about
helping the poor and needy as well as joining hands in harmony among different
faiths? Then the building would look more like a market place or a community centre,
would it not?
Thus the future architects and ministers of religious affairs among my students may
take heed and use the people’s money to aid the needy rather than build six minarets. I
am very serious in presenting these issues and am very respectful of my would-be-
the-next-minister student audience.
This is why I remain humbled by the depth of knowledge still waiting to be known
and do not behave like a know-it-all because the true professor is a “does-not-know-
all” individual.
Why? Because he or she has reached the boundaries of present knowledge and has
seen the vastness of the unknown landscape. Arrogance built on knowledge possessed
should never be a part of the professor’s mantle. Only young lecturers understandably
put on such airs because they still reside within the coconut shell of their knowledge.
Thus, I treat students – especially the postgraduates – with respect because they will
provide me with knowledge to keep filling in the vast open landscapes of the
unknown.
Finally, there is the spiritual perspective of the relationship between student and
professor.
In classical Malay, the student is called the santri or santeri. In modern Malay, the
university student is called a mahasiswa. “Maha” means “greatness” or “superior” in
an ancient language, thus those who pursue knowledge are “great” and “superior”
individuals.
In Islam, the professor who imparts knowledge and wisdom to the mahasiswa will
gain God’s divine grace and he or she would benefit from all the good deeds that his
or her students will do in the future even beyond the grave. Such is the height of
spiritual importance that religion places on the acts of teaching and learning
knowledge. It is the highest form of human endeavour and belittles the accumulation
of wealth and political power.
Wealth and power must be guarded by their owners but knowledge paves the path
towards salvation. Wealth and power are fleeting and soon spent but knowledge
grows and prospers with its expenditure. Thus, I consider the students an extension of
my investment in good deeds and are humbled when the students ultimately become
my teachers in the future.
The university is not a place for teachers to parade their knowledge in front of
students. It is the realm of questions and consciousness as well as multiple
awakenings about self, society, the world and beyond. It is truly a “universe” of the
unknown with an endless depth of mind to explore and expand. The true professor
learns as much as, if not even more than, the student he or she teaches.
Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at the Tan Sri
Omar Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Studies at UCSI
University. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own.