Teachers’ Day should not merely be reduced to an annual ritual of felicitations, bouquets and ceremonial speeches. It should be a day of serious introspection for a profession whose true purpose is gradually being overshadowed by the pursuit of money, institutional politics, administrative interference and the race for cosy assignments. The more pertinent question today is: Are our teachers and educational institutions preparing the young generation for the India of tomorrow, or merely producing another army of degree holders? The answer assumes enormous significance as the country pursues the ambitious vision of Viksit Bharat.
Nelson Mandela’s celebrated observation that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” acquires particular significance for India at this juncture. Education cannot remain confined to examinations, marks and degrees. It must become an instrument for building skills, character, innovation, employability and economic independence. India therefore needs a decisive paradigm shift from a traditional, generic degree-centric system to one that introduces vocational education, practical skills, entrepreneurship, technology and job-oriented learning right from the school level. The National Education Policy has already laid the foundation for such a transformation. But policies alone cannot change the destiny of a nation. There are credible concerns that students in several Government Degree Colleges are sometimes assigned subjects against their preferences, while the utilisation of funds on non-priority construction activities has also emerged as a concern in educational institutions. Such practices risk defeating the fundamental objective of NEP 2020, which envisages choice-based education with a strong focus on research and innovation. Merely for administrative convenience or personal comfort, college administrations must shun any practice that undermines the spirit of NEP 2020 and instead become principal agents of the change. Sadly, the success of NEP 2020 in our UT currently appears more decorative in official files and seminars in contrast to the ugly picture existing on the ground.
Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam repeatedly emphasised the pivotal role of teachers in shaping enlightened citizens and building the nation. His message was clear: teachers must continuously upgrade their knowledge and capabilities because the quality of education ultimately determines the quality of a nation’s human resources. That responsibility becomes even greater in an era of artificial intelligence, technological disruption and shrinking opportunities for generic degree holders. A teacher who stops learning risks making the classroom irrelevant. The profession therefore demands mastery of the subject, familiarity with emerging technologies, continuous professional development and the ability to connect academic knowledge with the rapidly changing demands of the employment market. The uncomfortable question the teaching community must ask itself is whether teaching has remained a vocation or has, for some, become merely another government service.
There is, however, another serious concern that cannot be brushed under the carpet. Certain teachers across the country are increasingly finding themselves in the spotlight over conduct that has brought avoidable disrespect to a profession which, since time immemorial, has been synonymous with reverence, discipline and moral authority. From teachers facing allegations of sexual offences, including rape, to cases involving alleged question-paper leakages, examination scams and financial irregularities in procurement and institutional transactions, such episodes have shaken public confidence in a profession entrusted with shaping young minds.
Even the credibility of academic evaluation which primarily entrusted to teachers across the country has not remained untouched. The CBI bribery case involving members of a NAAC peer team, who were accused of seeking or accepting bribes of Rs. 1.80 crore for a favourable accreditation outcome, was a particularly sobering reminder of how seriously professional integrity can be compromised. Following, this shocking development the NAAC has abrogate grading system. When academics entrusted with independently assessing the quality of institutions themselves come under such allegations, the issue goes beyond an individual case—it strikes at the credibility of the very standards they are expected to safeguard. A teacher cannot simultaneously claim the moral authority to shape the character of students while becoming associated with conduct that undermines the very values education is expected to impart. The answer cannot be institutional silence or protection; it must be accountability, transparency and an uncompromising commitment to professional ethics.
Equally disturbing is the tendency among a section of academics to spend disproportionate time cultivating influence in administrative and political corridors in pursuit of preferred postings, lucrative assignments or positions of convenience. There is nothing wrong with an academic taking up additional responsibilities when competence demands it. But the relentless pursuit of assignments at the cost of classrooms, research and professional development defeats the very purpose of the teaching profession. A teacher’s most valuable currency should be knowledge, credibility and the success of students—not proximity to power. The real prestige of a teacher is earned in the classroom and in the minds of students, not in the corridors of bureaucracy.
But the government cannot escape its own responsibility. Higher educational institutions cannot be allowed to become laboratories for political patronage or bureaucratic convenience. Positions such as Vice-Chancellor, Dean, Director Colleges, Registrar and Controller of Examinations carry enormous institutional responsibility and must be filled through transparent processes based on merit, academic credentials, integrity, administrative competence and vision. Political considerations, personal loyalties or perceived pliability must have no role in appointments that shape the academic future of thousands of students. A compliant institution may appear convenient to those in power in the short term, but a university deprived of independent, intellectually capable leadership can pay a heavy price in the long run.
Repeatedly installing ‘Man Fridays’ at the helm of Government Women’s Colleges, despite the availability of competent and eligible female academicians, is yet another malady afflicting the higher education sector in J&K UT. As a matter of fact, multiplying yes-men while sidelining talent is not governance; it is a recipe for institutional decline and best recipe for man made disaster in educational institutions. There is no denying that the erosion of autonomy of higher educational institutions is particularly dangerous when universities are expected to lead India in research, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology and multidisciplinary learning. Administration should facilitate academic excellence, not overshadow it. This is where the contrasting trajectories of the University of Jammu and the Cluster University of Jammu merit serious examination. Under Vice-Chancellor Prof. Umesh Rai, the University of Jammu has been moving towards academic and institutional excellence, with initiatives focused on multidisciplinary education, research and innovation. Its progress demonstrates what purposeful academic leadership can achieve when institutional energy is channelled towards the core mission of a university.
The condition of the Cluster University of Jammu, however, warrants much deeper introspection. Nearly a decade after its establishment, questions continue to surround its institutional effectiveness and its ability to realise the promise for which it was created. Concerns over excessive administrative involvement, including the deployment of bureaucratic personnel in crucial university offices, deserve examination through the fundamental principle of academic autonomy. Professional administration is essential to any university, but the administrative machinery must remain an enabler of academic objectives rather than become an overpowering influence over them. If the sincere efforts of academic leadership are repeatedly constrained by administrative interventions, the institution ultimately suffers and with it, the students whose future depends upon it.
The same principle must govern the functioning of government degree colleges in J&K. The recurring concerns surrounding transfers and postings of principals demand greater transparency, consistency and institutional accountability. If competent, visionary and academically committed principals are shifted from institutions where they have demonstrated leadership and sent to far-flung or resource-constrained colleges merely because of administrative preferences, the system risks punishing competence while rewarding influence.
A two-room college in a remote area certainly deserves a competent principal, but competence should never become a punishment, nor should proximity to power become a reward. Those sitting in the corridors of power must realise that educational leadership must be strengthened, not weakened, by arbitrary or perceived preferential postings to a coterie of Yes men.
For Viksit Bharat to become a reality in letter and spirit, the government must therefore demonstrate the courage to reform the culture surrounding education. It must move decisively from degree proliferation to skill creation, from political convenience to institutional merit, and from bureaucratic control to genuine academic autonomy. Teachers, on their part, must return to the fundamentals of their profession: teach, learn, research, innovate and inspire. They must devote their productive years to upgrading their teaching skills and subject knowledge rather than searching for ways to secure idle or lucrative assignments.
Therefore, the real tribute to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is not another ceremonial function on Teachers’ Day. It is to create an education system in which teachers command respect through knowledge and character; students acquire skills alongside academic qualifications; universities flourish with genuine autonomy; and institutional leadership is selected on merit rather than political or bureaucratic considerations. India cannot become Viksit Bharat by multiplying degrees while shrinking employability, innovation and critical thinking. Nor can it build world-class institutions by sidelining talent and elevating patronised loyalty. Teachers’ Day, therefore, must be more than a celebration of the profession. It must be a reminder of what the profession was created to achieve and of how far the system must still travel to reclaim that purpose.