Teaching isn’t a lucrative profession anymore

Ritu Kamra Kumar

The quality of higher education is being discussed and debated at various levels. Findings suggest that the situation is complex. In spite of 700 universities and 36,000 affiliated colleges enrolling around 30 million students, outwardly the picture seems satisfactory yet why is the teaching profession not a pick when it comes to career choices? Why is it not considered an attractive profession? If we ask students what would they want to become? Most of them will mention professions such as entrepreneur but not a teacher. Isn’t it a lucrative career? It is a debatable issue. 

Teachers working on permanent basis in colleges are highly paid but their number is less as compared to those working on ad hoc basis, who are paid a meager salary. Ad hoc teachers are quitting the profession in protest and opting for careers such as freelance translators, trainers etc. Across India this is the case that there are not effective regulations to correct the system and act on it. Ad hoc teachers struggle to support themselves as academics. Even NET, SLET qualified teachers have to wait for a long period to get permanent jobs in the higher education teaching profession. After a masters degree it takes years to crack NET or acquire a PhD degree, which frustrates them. Meanwhile, they are forced to work on temporary basis on a small salary. They themselves are so de-motivated by the system that they fail to motivate students. This vicious circle makes the scenario grim. They cannot wait for an unknown period to get absorbed in the higher education teaching profession because of uncertainty of permanent recruitment. Uncertainty of a stable future discourages many to opt for teaching profession. In India, where the literacy rate is increasing, economic growth has not been consistent and job opportunities are limited. Everyone wants a stable job to settle down. Thus there is hardly any encouragement from economically well off educated families to their children to take up teaching as career or pursue research. Hence, they prefer children to acquire degrees in management or computers that assure a decent job with a reasonable salary. So, teachers are voiceless victims of the system. Moreover, colleges and universities are working with half the faculty required, leading to dilution of teaching quality. In the process students are the worst sufferers. Temporary staff recruited on contractual basis at the beginning of every session fails to deliver as every time new teachers teach students.

Teachers touch the lives of young people, shape their thinking and prepare them for the future. As CS Lewis puts it, “The task of modern education is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts”. A challenging task indeed! The role of a teacher is not to lecture on important information rather it is his or her responsibility to organise experience for students, allowing discovery, insight and love for the subject. I act, mime, crack jokes and often become emotional while taking students through the fascinating world of literature. They watch with awe and wonder how art and life converge!

Another important issue that needs attention is a postgraduate degree doesn’t equip students to face professional challenges. Cracking NET, students have to put in a lot of extra reading, outside of what is taught for the masters' degree. So, it is also needed that the course curriculum at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels be revised. A postgraduate degree should be a foundation for NET. Research-oriented courses should be introduced at the school level.  If we talk about literature the fact is that students as well as teachers are not aware of different professional possibilities of the field. For instance, literature is a great way to study other human beings, cultures and past societies. Thus it is a good platform for students who wish to pursue higher students in anthropology, psychology, sociology, journalism etc. Companies in technology and management fields, nowadays, are looking out for humanities students. So, we need to be aware of possibilities with graduation or post-graduation in a particular subject. I was shocked as I came across a professor thanking his postgraduate students for giving him employment and telling them that he hopes they also get lucky to find students who may serve as a source of their livelihood. I stood stupefied. How can such a teacher be a source of motivation?

I feel our education system needs to be reformed so that it values ‘teachers and teaching’. Let’s get our teachers thinking about some fundamental questions; why do we teach? What is the purpose of higher education? And what is it that we’re retrying to do every day in our classroom? What does a youngster in the 21st century need to learn? How do we make sure that our teachers are role-models and our students become aware of the possibilities that a master’s degree or other courses offer them to face the world.

Teaching needn’t become a lucrative profession but it must remain a decent profession for many who are truly passionate about it. They should be teachers by choice and not by chance. They will do so if they are paid well, given stability and security of job. Only then they can develop a sense of accountability to the institute. If they are committed to the profession they can inspire their students and ignite the spark of learning in them. As a number of talented teachers are leaving college jobs for greener pastures, mediocre teachers fail to perform or deliver the goods. Mediocrity shouldn't be allowed to rule and ruin the education sector.

Let’s make sure that we do certain things. First motivate the motivators by job security and selection in a transparent manner. Second, counsel students about various options in the courses they pursue. That should be the real objective of education.

(The writer is Professor of English, MLN College, Yamunanagar)