Pakistan

Islamabad student recounts teacher's ‘selfless act’ when earthquake struck

As panic spread during the earthquake, the teacher remain in the classroom till every student was evacuated

Web Desk October 28, 2015

PHOTO: HUMANS OF PAKISTAN

A 7.5-magnitude catastrophic earthquake on Monday devastated northern parts of Pakistan leaving more than 200 dead and hundreds more injured and displaced.

Since then, people have taken to social media to narrate stories of their experiences when the earthquake struck. One such story is of a student in Islamabad who recalls how his teacher’s selfless act in helping vacate the class during the disaster without caring for his own safety has led him to reflect that there is more to a teacher than just teaching.

A family in Torghar reels from aftershock

“I was at university when the earthquake hit yesterday. There was chaos as everyone rushed towards the exit to save themselves. Everyone except one person,” he told Humans of Pakistan.

There was someone in the classroom who was not running towards the exit trying to escape. “My teacher. He evacuated the entire class first, ensured that every student was safe, then left the classroom,” the student said.

[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/HofPak/photos/a.587691221320292.1073741826.587679261321488/885972718158806/?type=3&theater"]

“This act of selflessness by a teacher proves that there's more to a teacher than just teaching: he's a role model and an inspiration.”

Following earthquake, Facebook activates 'safety check' feature

And how does one repay such a noble act? One simply cannot. So a ‘Thank You’ note had to suffice. “This morning, when his class started, I gave him a 'Thank You' note. I believe that thanking him was the best way to boost his morale; to tell him how much I admired him and that he inspired me to be a better person. I then requested him to take a picture with the entire class so that we could keep it as a memento of his selfless act,” he ended.

According to Humans of Pakistan, the admirable teacher works at Comsats Islamabad and he teaches Numerical Computation.

Here's what you should do during an earthquake

COMMENTS (9)

Milli | 8 years ago | Reply Of course there is more to being a teacher than teaching. I am a teacher and would have done the same. Being one of the community I can tell you my feelings for my students. They are just like my kids and in danger I cannot walk away from them. That's not only my moral but professional duty also. I remember once alarm bells for the fire went off in school. Very calmly, I asked the students to go out leaving in the last,at the end of the line, walking them to safety.

Iqbal Hadi Zaidi | 8 years ago | Reply What adjectives and how many be used for the noble of the noblest who cared for his students and not self. Can I pose a question, if not annoying, as to what happened in our President House and Prime Minister House since both very much are in Islamabad which too must have shaken a bit or may be alternatively royal security guards did not allow earthquake to enter our these palaces? I pray Allah to protect Pakistanis from such like calamities, aameen.