Who Needs Teachers? A Profession India Can’t Ignore

Earlier this year, I sat across from Varun Duggirala on his podcast Take a Pause. The conversation began with education boards, parenting and curriculum. Then Varun asked me about teachers. Something in that question stayed with me. I found myself speaking about things I had been carrying for years, the quiet decline in respect for teachers, the shrinking aspiration around the profession, and the contradiction of expecting teachers to transform education while not transforming the profession itself. That segment travelled widely. The response was not just agreement. It felt like recognition. Many people seemed relieved that someone had said it plainly.

This was not the first time I had tried to ask that question. A few years ago, I made a short film titled Who Needs Teachers? The film went on to win awards at festivals across the world. But what stayed with me was not only the recognition. It was what happened after screenings in different countries. Educators, parents and policymakers would come up and say, “This is our story too.” A film made in India about teachers resonated across cultures because the question is no longer local. Who needs teachers in an age of AI, apps, online tutors, coaching platforms and endless information?

The Pipeline Is Shrinking

The recent decline in B.Ed applications should worry us. Applications fell from 56,000 to 35,000 in a few years, it cannot be dismissed as a routine fluctuation. It is a systemic warning. If you choose teaching today, you must complete a degree, pursue a two-year B.Ed, clear eligibility tests, and then navigate slow and uncertain recruitment processes. From college to classroom, the journey can take five to seven years.

We have stretched the pathway into teaching without strengthening its purpose, dignity or reward. Stronger teacher education is important. But young people do not choose careers only because policy documents say the profession matters. They choose careers where the pathway is clear, growth is visible, respect is real and the future feels secure.

This Is Not a Passion Problem

I do not believe young people have stopped caring about teaching. Many still admire teachers. Many still enjoy working with children. Many still want meaningful careers. But they are also practical. Other professions offer faster entry, clearer growth, better financial predictability and stronger professional identity.

When a profession is celebrated symbolically but neglected structurally, it slowly becomes a fallback. We call teachers nation-builders in speeches. We celebrate them on special days. We ask them to shape the future. But we do not always build systems that make the profession aspirational for the best young minds.

The Teacher Is Not an Information Machine

Technology has complicated the conversation. AI can answer questions. Online platforms can deliver content. Apps can personalise practice. Video lessons can explain concepts repeatedly. But teaching was never only about delivering information. Technology can provide information. A teacher helps a child make meaning. That distinction has never mattered more.

A teacher notices when a child is pretending to understand. A teacher knows when to push, when to pause, when to question and when to encourage. A teacher does not merely transmit knowledge. A teacher builds the conditions in which learning becomes possible. This is why teaching cannot be treated as an old-world profession while the education system claims to become future-ready.

The Domino Nobody Is Watching

The decline in B.Ed enrolments is not an isolated admissions issue. It is the first tile in a long domino run. Fewer trained teachers lead to shortages. Shortages dilute classroom quality. Weaker learning outcomes erode parent trust. As trust falls, schools become more defensive, more exam-driven and more transactional. The system begins to weaken itself. And in that loop, the child pays the highest price.

NEP 2020 speaks of future-ready learners, critical thinking, experiential education and holistic development. I believe in that vision. But I keep returning to one uncomfortable question: who is entering the system to make this transformation possible? We are redesigning education without redesigning the teaching profession. That is the central contradiction of our ambition.

Restoring the Aspiration

The answer is not simply to fill B.Ed seats. The goal must be to reposition teaching itself. Teaching needs clearer entry routes, faster recruitment, fair compensation, stronger mentoring and visible growth pathways. A young graduate should be able to see not only what teaching pays next month, but where it can take them in ten years.

We must also tell better stories about teachers. Not only sentimental stories, but professional ones. Stories of teachers as designers of learning, mentors of human capability, builders of thinking and leaders of India’s future classrooms. Teaching cannot be positioned only as a career of sacrifice. It must be seen as a career of influence, intellect and lasting impact.

I made a film asking this question. I spoke about it on a podcast, and the response came again. That is not a coincidence. It is a signal. Every child needs a teacher. Every school does. Every nation does.

The question is not who needs teachers. The question is whether India is willing to build a teaching profession worthy of the future it wants for its children.