Who wants to be a teacher?

Many of my teacher colleagues complain that their students do not respect or talk to them when they see them around town. They feel humiliated and remorseful as if they have committed a sin by not becoming a role model for the students. Though I am also shocked when my students avoid me on casual occasions, I don’t think I’m guilty for that. I think it’s not actually me who can do anything about it.


I have been in the teaching profession for the last five years. Since the day I started, I have always tried to follow the Geeta philosophy, the supreme Hindu scriptures, that one should keep carrying out actions without expecting any fruit. But that is very tough and almost impossible in the modern context because you need money for everything. The reality is: If you have money, you have power. You are absolutely powerless without it. Hence, people are ready to do anything for cash.

Luckily, teaching is still regarded as one of the noblest professions in the world. But there are many other professions or jobs that pay more than teaching. It has caused a problem in society, especially for teachers and their families.


Teachers spend much time and effort and go through terrific stress every day. But what they earn is always little. So they are often found to be dissatisfied with their job. This is because society judges a person’s importance by the wealth the person earns. Teachers come near the bottom in the list of high earners in society. The rich are always welcomed though they may be morally corrupt or mischievous, while the poor are often doubted for no reason. Therefore, teachers get frustrated because they belong to the latter category.


Hardly any young person is found with the dream of becoming a teacher in the future. Maybe money plays an important role for this state of affairs. In the modern money-minded Nepali society, money matters much. It expects one to show off as much as one can. If one is unable to do so, one must be ready to be insulted in every possible way.


Students learn from society and the people around them. They see other professionals earning much more than their teachers. Therefore, they immediately make up their mind that they will be anything but a teacher in the future.


It is ironic that many teachers today never thought of becoming one previously.

They came into this profession by mistake. If given an alternative with a better salary, many are ready to change their profession without thinking twice about it. It seems that the profession has long lost its glamour. So, why should we teachers expect to be role models for our students?

                                                                        (Published in The Kathmandu Post on 28.11.2012)