India's teachers question what one day of recognition means for a profession in crisis

Teachers' Day 2026: Beyond Wishes, India Reflects on the Profession's True Value

India observes Teachers' Day annually on September 5 to mark the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of India, who in 1962 redirected personal celebration into national recognition of educators.

The tradition began when former students and friends approached Dr Radhakrishnan seeking permission to celebrate his birthday after he assumed the presidency. Instead of accepting personal praise, the distinguished philosopher and scholar made a humble request that the day be observed as Teachers' Day to honour all educators across the country. Special programmes are organised in schools, colleges and other institutions on this occasion, with students sharing greetings, quotes and messages to express gratitude.

A Letter From the Ground

Yet this year, a serving school teacher has raised uncomfortable questions about what the annual celebration truly signifies. Writing in The Hindu, the teacher acknowledged that it feels good to be remembered and acknowledged once a year by so many people, but could not help asking questions about what happens in the remaining 364 days.

The teacher posed a direct challenge to well-wishers: would they encourage their own child to become a school teacher? The writer noted that when there are far more lucrative professions which are also viewed with admiration and respect by society, parents understandably hesitate to let their children become "just a teacher", a profession that gets lauded once a year and forgotten or looked down upon for the rest of the time.

Ground Realities vs Annual Rhetoric

The teacher detailed current pressures facing the profession, asking why colleagues are weighed down with special intensive revision duty this year, with several government schools running with a single teacher for over two months. Teachers have tried protesting, saying their classes are being neglected and their students need them, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

More fundamentally, the teacher questioned why no school teacher is asked for their view when the nation discusses examination reforms. While respected luminaries in IT and research constitute committees examining needed changes, school teachers, like doctors in a medical case, are absent from conversations about making examinations more meaningful.

This exclusion extends to National Education Policies, where panels are comprised of leading experts in all domains except school teaching, despite teachers being in touch with ground realities day in and day out.

The teacher's final question cut to the core: do we honestly think that school teaching is no rocket science, that anyone can teach? If so, why wasn't each of our own school teachers good or excellent, the writer asked, noting that teaching demands a specific skill set and knowledge base like any other profession.

Radhakrishnan's Deeper Legacy

Dr Radhakrishnan, deeply against ostentation in both public and private life, gave straightforward directives to the countrymen: do not observe my birthday as a special occasion, but convert the same into a national celebration marked for the architects of the society.

His commitment to the teaching community manifested tangibly during his presidential years when in 1963-64 he mooted the idea of converting the centuries-old Viceregal Lodge at Shimla into a centre of higher studies where the best brains could confluence and confabulate on matters concerning the advancement of society. This became the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, conceived as a place where scholars could withdraw, think deeply and work across disciplinary boundaries.

The institution embodied Radhakrishnan's understanding that universities are not factories producing scholars with scant regard for knowledge, but environments where the human mind could question, explore, disagree, imagine and discover.