It was one of those long days at Calcutta University—spent correcting exam papers. By evening, a few of us teachers gathered at College Square, sipping tea, debating an eternal question: what exactly is the role of a teacher today?
The discussion felt urgent, especially in the aftermath of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020). Most of us spend the year conducting exams, grading scripts, and—if time permits—teaching. One colleague bluntly remarked, “A teacher’s job is just that—a job.”
But then, what do we actually do in this job? Do we impart knowledge? Teach skills? Deliver moral lessons? Or run errands for midday meals?
As we argued, blocking half the pavement, a young man brushed past us with a load of books tied in cloth, sweat dripping from his shirt. He muttered, “Move aside.” I recognized him—Momin, a commerce student who had appeared for exams at our college. By day, he studied; by evening, he carried books as a porter in College Street. Embarrassed, he apologized, “Sorry, sir, I didn’t notice.”
My colleague smirked: “See who we teach? The name says it all; the behavior follows.”
We fell silent, walking away under the stern gaze of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar’s statue in College Square.
School Memories of Teacher’s Day
Back in the late 1990s, Teacher’s Day was almost a festival. September 5th never saw us late to school. We decorated classrooms with care; teachers inspected them, awarded prizes, and then—tables turned—we students became “teachers” for an hour. The day ended with debates and discussions.
Only later did I realize what those celebrations meant: experiential learning, participatory education, and value formation, long before such jargon entered pedagogy. When I entered the profession myself, I found the opposite: words multiplying, responsibility shrinking. Institutions and teachers alike often treat education as a burden, not a calling.
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The Changing Face of Education
Yes, nostalgia tempts us to think the past was better. But the truth is—private tutoring thrived then too, as it does now. The only difference is the medium: from living rooms to Google Meet. Some teachers embraced responsibility; others reduced it to a transaction.
The official observance of Teacher’s Day traces back to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan—philosopher, scholar, teacher, and India’s second President. In 1962, when admirers sought to celebrate his birthday, he suggested instead: “If you must honor me, observe September 5 as Teachers’ Day.”
Yet, against this noble sentiment, today’s education system looks fragile.
NEP 2020 and Higher Education’s Fault Lines
The NEP envisions raising education spending to 6% of GDP, but current allocations hover around 3–4%. Without funds, reforms like e-learning, infrastructure upgrades, and teacher training remain patchy.
Digital dependence deepens inequality: students from rural or poor households, lacking devices or internet, are excluded. Concerns also grow over Value-Added Courses (VACs) eating into core subject time. And while allowing direct PhD entry post-honors may seem efficient, it risks weakening research foundations once built through Master’s and MPhil.
Replacing UGC, AICTE, and NCTE with a super-regulator, HECI, could further centralize control. Meanwhile, the privatization wave turns education into a commodity—fees soaring in private institutions, while public ones struggle with apathy and corruption.
Numbers Tell the Story
Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): The NEP targets 100% in schools by 2030 and 50% in higher education by 2035. Currently, nearly 70% of eligible youth remain outside higher education.
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Institutions (AISHE 2020–21): India has 1,385 universities, of which 935 (67.5%) are private. Out of 60,127 colleges, 22,735 (37.8%) are private. Nearly 48.7% of 49 million enrolled students study in private institutions.
Cost Gap: Annual spending per student:
Government school: ₹2,863
Private school: ₹25,002 (≈9× higher)
B.Tech: ₹15,000 (public) vs. ₹1,50,000 (private)
MBBS: ₹30,000 vs. ₹7.5 lakh
West Bengal Snapshot: Primary schools declined from 74,717 (2012) to 49,368 (2025)—a closure of over 25,000 schools in 13 years. In higher education, of 9.5 lakh college seats, only 3.5 lakh are filled this year.
Thus, education access is not blocked by merit but by affordability. NEP 2020, for all its ambitions, lacks a roadmap to bridge this inequality.
Teachers and Students: A Strained Relationship
Classrooms often sit empty. Teachers, disillusioned, arrive late, teach half-heartedly, discourage questions, and judge students harshly. In turn, students ask: Why study? Will it bring jobs or dignity?
The rift is widening. Teachers feel insulted on buses when asked if they bought their jobs. Student leaders mock vice-chancellors on television. Social respect for teachers, once sacred, is almost gone.
And yet, one word—“Sir”—spoken sincerely by a former student, can still heal a teacher’s bruised soul.
The Taxi Driver with an M.A.
One rainy evening, I hailed a taxi. The driver addressed me as “Sir”—a courtesy I brushed off at first. Then he introduced himself: Somnath Dey, a graduate in English literature from Surendranath College (2022), M.A. from Calcutta University (2024), preparing for NET when his father fell critically ill.
Unable to sustain his family on an ₹8,000 private school salary, he took to driving his father’s old taxi. He still lives in Agarpara with his parents.
Somnath may never debate Derrida in seminars, never win literary prizes, but every day his taxi ferries people across Kolkata. A scholar turned breadwinner, his journey embodies both aspiration and betrayal by a system that promised opportunity but delivered none.
Epilogue
I did not recognize him, though he remembered me as his exam invigilator. His respectful “Sir” was his Teacher’s Day tribute to me.
So to Momin, Somnath, and countless others like them, I offer my greetings, respect, and gratitude this Teacher’s Day.
