When I took to authoring, besides encountering the usual obstacles associated with publishing industry such as allocation of time to complete the project, editing, copyrighting, uploading on online selling platforms etc., I had to face the critical philosophies of both colleagues and people occupying different positions in the education industry. If you are wondering what placed me in such a spot, it is the overbearing attitude of the ignorant lot. The staunch supporters of the industry who never dared to think outside the box or to indulge in high-stakes ventures did not deem it necessary to check on the policies that allow employees of the industry to seek private and secondary employment. One would assume that the academicians would know the connotations of words such as “private” and “secondary”. It’s beyond me why anyone would misunderstand the synonyms of “private” and “secondary”. The dictionary defines ‘private’ as ‘one’s own’ or ‘individual’ or ‘not official or public’ (position) and ‘secondary’ as ‘additional’, ‘fall back’, ‘extra’, or ‘relief.’ When these words are used in conjunction with ’employment’ the meaning changes to own arrangements for additional income other than the main or major job. When people of such calibre, as the academicians, have difficulty in comprehending the meaning of such simple words, it would not come as a surprise to you if I ridicule them.
If I claim that the education body recognises secondary employment as an opportunity for the academicians to gain additional skills and knowledge I am not exaggerating. Irrespective of the fact whether an individual succeeds in his secondary job or not, one cannot deny that the experience enriches the concerned individual. As long as the individual informs his/her employer, the government for taxation purposes, does not allow the additional job to interfere with his primary employment, does not misuse the resources provided to him by his primary employer and upholds the good reputation of the organisation he/she represents, it would not be detrimental. As there are innumerable opportunities for one to extend oneself, professional jealousy is uncalled for. There is no policy that prevents an academician from publishing books and hence subjecting a creative person to unwanted scathing criticisms is pointless and absurd.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/private-and-secondary-employment-policy
Academicians who shape and encourage young minds to be creative, innovative, individualistic, to stand up for their own beliefs are either unwilling or unable to practice what they preach. Isn’t it ironical?
A Writer's Exposé 