Saptrishi Soni
In the heart of India’s rapidly modernizing cities, where five-star-like private school campuses boast air-conditioned classrooms, polished English-speaking children, and tech-enabled boards, an unseen tragedy quietly unfolds every day. The real story of India’s private education sector is not just about student success or smart campuses—it’s about the systemic exploitation of those who make learning possible: the teachers.
Despite the promises enshrined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the moral fabric of a culture that once revered teachers as “gurus” akin to gods, today’s private school educators are treated not as professionals, but as replaceable labor. These schools, though charging exorbitant fees and enjoying full autonomy, rarely follow government-mandated norms regarding salary structure, working hours, paid leave, or job security. They operate as profit-driven enterprises shielded by political patronage, effectively turning teachers into contractual workers without rights or recourse.
The NEP 2020, envisioned as a transformative roadmap for education in India, speaks eloquently of empowering teachers, building institutional accountability, and nurturing holistic environments. However, on the ground, its implementation remains grossly imbalanced. While government schools fall under district regulatory oversight, private schools often operate with impunity. The very regulatory vacuum meant to be filled by the policy is being deliberately kept hollow—because those who are supposed to enforce the law are often the ones circumventing it.
Many private schools are either directly run by politically connected individuals or backed by powerful investors with ties to decision-makers. This nexus ensures that accountability remains elusive. Any attempt to demand transparency—whether in teachers’ salaries, hiring processes, or working conditions—is crushed under the weight of either job insecurity or bureaucratic indifference. Teachers who question the system are told to either “adjust” or “leave,” a chilling choice in a job-scarce environment.
Female teachers, in particular, bear the brunt of this system. Expected to flawlessly manage both domestic responsibilities and professional demands, they navigate a dual world of invisible labor. While they are addressed respectfully as “madam” or “miss” in classrooms, in reality, their voices carry little authority within the school system. Their roles are constantly stretched—to manage classrooms, host events, coordinate with parents, run WhatsApp groups, act as examiners, and even produce weekly ‘Instagram-worthy’ class content—yet their contributions are either dismissed or underpaid.
The irony deepens every September 5th on Teachers’ Day, when students shower them with flowers and cards. For one day, they’re celebrated. The rest of the year, they’re overworked, underpaid, and silenced. Teachers lose their voices to sore throats but are still expected to conduct classes without rest. If they fall ill, their salaries are deducted. If they speak up, they’re branded as troublemakers. And if a student fails, the teacher is blamed. But if the same student excels, the credit belongs to the institution.
Parents too, though often well-meaning, unwittingly contribute to this imbalance. Their expectations from teachers border on the unrealistic—demanding that educators turn average-performing children into IAS toppers in a matter of months. Any shortfall in student performance is attributed not to parenting or the child’s effort, but to the teacher’s “inefficiency.” In a society where education has become a commodified product, the teacher is reduced to a service provider in a transactional relationship—never a stakeholder, rarely a human being.
The absence of a national regulatory framework for private school teachers has left them vulnerable and voiceless. No centralized data exists on how many teachers are working under exploitative conditions, receiving only partial salaries in cash or working without appointment letters. District Education Officers, who rigorously monitor government schools, seldom inspect private ones—either due to administrative gaps or political pressures.
This has far-reaching consequences for India’s education system. A teacher who is demoralized and overburdened cannot inspire learning. A school that sees its educators as disposable cannot cultivate creativity. And a nation that turns its back on its educators cannot hope to build a truly empowered, equitable future. Education, in such an ecosystem, becomes mechanical and hollow—failing not just the teacher, but every child in that classroom.
The deterioration of the system is not accidental—it is orchestrated. By keeping teachers disorganized and unprotected, those in power preserve the status quo. Trade unions for private school teachers are either nonexistent or toothless. Most educators fear unemployment too much to protest. Meanwhile, those who own and run these schools—from local politicians to influential businesspersons—continue to benefit from a system they themselves have corrupted.
The call for reform must go beyond well-worded policy documents and ceremonial gestures. There is a dire need for a legally empowered regulatory body to monitor private educational institutions, enforce minimum wages for teachers, ensure job security, mandate fair working hours, and introduce grievance redressal mechanisms. District-wise unions must be encouraged and protected. And most importantly, society at large must begin to respect the emotional, intellectual, and physical labor that teachers invest every day.
A nation that aspires to be a global leader cannot afford to let its educators remain marginalized. If the blackboard is the canvas on which a country sketches its future, then the teacher is the artist. It is time we ensure that the hands holding the chalk are not trembling from fatigue or fear, but steady with dignity and strength.
Because when a teacher is free from exploitation, the entire nation stands to rise.
#IndianEducationCrisis #TeachersRights #EducationPolicyIndia #PrivateSchoolsExposed #TeacherExploitation #NEP2020 #EducationReformNow
