LETTERS by both Muhammad Asif and Cdr (Rtd) Abdul Qayyum Khan (Jan 30) and the letters that have followed since have words of praise for Air Cdr (Rtd) Khayyum Durrani on the whole, but berate him for calling educators in air force as children of a ‘lesser god’.

Khayyum Durrani was my colleague at the PAF Academy, Risalpur, in the late 1960s. We both taught English to cadets preparing for future appointments in the air force. He expressed an opinion on the atmosphere that prevailed in air force at our time. He was not critical of the profession of education as such. The use of such words as ‘schooli’ and ‘master’ is debatable.

Mr Durrani was professionally an outstanding officer, and the fact that he attained the topmost position in the education branch is in itself proof of his calibre. I have great respect for this officer and I consider him head and shoulder above his colleagues.

However, those who object to his comment that educators in air force are children of a ‘lesser god’ are those who have not served in the education branch of PAF. I feel education has always been looked upon with disdain in the air force, and class distinction is far more pronounced than in any of the other services.No one can deny the fact that General Duty (Pilot) branch officers were and are considered blue-eyed boys of the air force and are given preference in every aspect over the other branches.

At the bottom of the rung come PAF educators. Furthermore, the highest rank in the other branches other than the GD (P) is that of an air vice marshal, whereas for quite some time the highest rank in the education branch was a group captain. It was later after a great deal of struggle that the rank of air commodore was conceded to the education branch.

At the Junior Command and Staff School at Drigh Road (now Sharea Faisal), Karachi, where I taught, the officer who commanded the institution was from the flying wing. He was a total misfit because he knew next to nothing about education.

At PAF Base, Kohat, which is generally an institution for recruits, the base commander is always chosen from among the other branches but the education branch. Training, which is purely an education matter barring the flying side, is commanded by a flyer, and yet they say Mr Durrani is wrong in saying that educators are children of a ‘lesser god.’

However, there was a difference when the late Air Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir, the former air chief, came to Peshawar for a dinner for retired air force officers. After a musical show, while on his way to the dining hall, his eyes lighted upon me in the crowd and he veered from the entourage and came straight to me, shook me by the hand and said: “Come, I would like to introduce you to my wife.”

Such officers are rare but, on the whole, as Mr Durrani rightly said that the general lot looks upon educationists as a breed apart.

When I went to the US on a visit I found a very telling comment on a mug which read: “Teachers make all other professions possible”.

WG-CDR (Rtd) AHMED SHAH JAN Peshawar Cantt