A Wake-Up Call for India
We say “teaching is the mother of all professions.”
But like many mothers, teachers too are overworked, underappreciated, and forgotten.
I’ve taught for 25 years. Twenty-five years of nurturing, guiding, staying up late to prepare lessons, waking up early to inspire young minds. In all this time, not once has a student come to me with joy in their eyes and said,
“Ma’am, I’ve become a teacher. Please bless me.”
We celebrate doctors. We celebrate IAS officers. We beam with pride when a student cracks IIT or UPSC. But when someone chooses to teach? There’s silence—if not disappointment.
We’ve built a culture that reveres outcomes but ignores origin stories. Every engineer, every leader, every scientist was once a student. And every student had a teacher. So why don’t we celebrate the root?
A Crisis We Don’t Talk About Enough
By 2030, the world will need 69 million teachers. In India alone, we’re grappling with massive teacher shortages, especially in rural and under-resourced regions. And those who do enter the profession—leave within five years.
Why?
Because passion alone cannot pay rent.
Because purpose doesn’t prevent burnout.
Because society doesn’t see teaching as success.
Teachers earn 20–30% less than professionals with similar qualifications. They carry enormous emotional and intellectual labor, yet have limited career growth, no systemic recognition, and often no voice in the policies that shape their classrooms.
And this affects everyone:
-
Policymakers: You can’t achieve NEP goals or SDG targets without a respected, stable teaching workforce.
-
Education NGOs: You can’t scale impact without investing in teacher capacity and wellbeing.
-
Parents: You want the best for your children, but who will guide them if no one wants to teach?
-
Society: You crave innovation and equity—but without great teachers, neither is possible.
We Need Indian Teaching Services—Now
It’s time we institutionalize respect for teachers. We need an Indian Teaching Services (ITS)—on par with IAS or perhaps more. Because while bureaucrats implement policy, it is teachers who build citizens.
Imagine if the top minds of the country were drawn to teaching—not as a backup, but as a calling. Imagine if our best alumni returned to schools with pride, not apology.
Rethinking the Profession Starts Here
To make teaching a career of choice, not compulsion, we must:
🔹 Restore Dignity and Pay
Pay teachers at par with professionals. Make salaries aspirational. Because a job that builds the nation must not be built on sacrifice alone.
🔹 Build Structured Growth Paths
Design professional ladders, leadership tracks, and specializations—so a teacher doesn’t have to leave the classroom to grow.
🔹 Invest in Mental Health and Wellbeing
Teaching is emotional labor. It needs care, time to reflect, and systemic support—especially in the post-pandemic world.
🔹 Make Teacher Voice Visible
Teachers must not just implement policy—they must help shape it. Put them on boards, in decision rooms, in the media. Let their wisdom lead.
Let’s Rebuild What We’ve Broken
We cannot afford to lose another passionate educator to burnout.
We cannot let another child grow up never seeing teaching as a worthy dream.
Let’s make it a badge of honor to become a teacher. Let us celebrate appointments in schools the way we celebrate UPSC results. Let us clap when someone chooses a classroom—not just when they leave one.
Because who teaches our children shapes our future.
And it’s time we gave that future the respect it deserves.
Share this if you’ve ever had a teacher who changed your life. And if you’re in a position to change policy, culture, or mindset—start now. Before the silence becomes permanent.