Education is often described as the foundation of a developed, civilized, and progressive society. Yet, when that very foundation is weak, corrupted, and misused, the entire structure collapses. The truth is simple, yet harsh: India’s education system is not just broken — it is toxic. It is the root cause behind many of the country’s deepest problems — poverty, unemployment, lack of civic sense, rising mental health issues, and even the erosion of basic humanity.

While we are quick to point fingers at the youth — labeling them as "irresponsible", "entitled", or "directionless" — we forget to ask one crucial question: Who raised them? Who educated them? Who shaped their minds and values? The answer points to the teachers and, more broadly, the entire education system.

The teachers are not just instructors; they are life-shapers. And unfortunately, many of them are failing — not just to teach, but to understand, to care, and to guide.

Education Is Not Just About Books — It’s About Building People

True education goes far beyond textbooks and exam scores. It’s not just about cramming chapters to pass a test. Education means personality development, emotional intelligence, civic responsibility, empathy, respect, and most importantly, humanity.

But our current system produces robots — marks-oriented machines — not human beings with depth, compassion, or social awareness.

This is why we have a generation of so-called “educated”  individuals who litter streets, harass women, lack public manners, and treat others with zero respect. What’s the point of degrees when humanity is missing? As the saying goes, “Padh likh kar bhi gawar reh jaate hain log.” Because what we’re giving them is not real education — it’s just academic data, force-fed for years.

The Teachers: Makers or Breakers of a Child’s Life

At the heart of every child's mental, emotional, and academic journey stands a teacher. A teacher can uplift, inspire, and empower. But sadly, many teachers today are doing the exact opposite.

Classrooms have become battlegrounds for humiliation and trauma. Many students face daily ridicule, mockery, and emotional abuse — all because of poor academic performance or for simply being different.

Teachers who are supposed to protect and mentor students often end up bullying them, shaming them in front of 30–40 classmates. This isn’t discipline. This is psychological damage.

Children develop deep insecurities, begin to doubt their worth, and lose confidence for life. In extreme cases, they even take the most tragic step — suicide.

And make no mistake: students are among the biggest victims of suicide in India. Because nobody understands them. Nobody listens. And the very people who are supposed to help them — their teachers and the education system — become the source of their pain.

Not All Teachers Are the Enemy — Many Are Victims Too

It’s important to also recognize that not all teachers are toxic. Many educators deeply care about their students. They want to help, they want to inspire — but they, too, are unheard.

Trapped in a system that doesn’t reward compassion, overburdened with admin tasks, denied mental health support, and poorly paid, even the most sincere teachers end up exhausted and emotionally numb.

Meanwhile, ego-driven, toxic teachers who bully students often go unchecked, spreading their poison through classrooms and crushing young minds. The ones who care are often silenced. The ones who don’t, thrive. This imbalance is killing the soul of education.

Unqualified Teachers, Corrupt Politicians, and Broken Dreams

So why does this happen? Why are teachers like this? Why is the system so flawed? Because the foundation is rotten.

The education system is being run by corrupt politicians who care only about filling their pockets, not filling young minds with knowledge or values.

Budgets for education are looted. School infrastructure is ignored. Training programs are either outdated or non-existent. Teachers are underpaid, overburdened, and, in many cases, underqualified.

Worse, teaching has become a “last option” job, not a passion, not a purpose. Until and unless we change this, no progress is possible.

A Radical Reform: Psychology and High Pay Must Be Compulsory

Here’s a basic truth that the education ministry refuses to understand: Every teacher should have a strong background in psychology.

Teaching is not just about transferring information. It is about understanding human behavior, childhood trauma, personality development, emotional needs, and communication styles.

No one should be allowed to enter a classroom without a deep understanding of how young minds work.

Second, teachers should be paid well, very well. Not just because they deserve it, but because it will attract passionate, educated, emotionally intelligent individuals into the profession.

Teaching should be a dream job, not a backup plan. High salaries will lead to high-quality candidates. And high-quality teachers will create a high-quality generation.

Make Counselors Mandatory in Every School

Another urgent need is the compulsory presence of counselors in every school, urban or rural.

Children today are struggling with anxiety, depression, pressure, bullying, and confusion. They need someone to talk to, someone to guide them without judgment.

Counselors are as essential as teachers. They are life-savers, literally. A child’s mental health is just as important as their math scores — and we need to start acting like it.

The Lack of Civic Sense — A National Shame

Step out into any public space in India — and you’ll see the consequences of our failed education system. People spitting, littering, breaking rules, abusing others, violating traffic laws, showing zero respect for boundaries, privacy, or dignity.

This is not poverty. This is lack of civic sense. This is lack of education.

According to a 2024 report by the Centre for Policy Research, over 72% of urban Indians admit to never receiving any formal education on civic behavior or rights. [1]

This is shocking. And the blame lies with the curriculum and teachers who never bothered to include it in daily teaching.

A truly educated person is one who knows how to behave in society. Not just someone who can recite Shakespeare or solve calculus problems.

The Rural Tragedy: When Lack of Education Breeds Violence

In rural India, the consequences are even more dangerous. Poor education — or no education at all — has led to a surge in harassment, threats, and even heinous crimes like rape.

When young boys grow up with no understanding of consent, dignity, gender respect, or human rights — what can we expect?

The education system kills humanity when it fails to teach values.

And the government does nothing, turns a blind eye, or worse, uses education as a political tool rather than a national priority.

And Then There Are the Parents — Silent Victims, Unknowing Perpetrators

While the education system and teachers are often (rightfully) blamed, we must also look inside our homes. Parents, too, sometimes fail to truly understand their own children.

But this failure doesn't always come from cruelty — it comes from generational trauma, rigid mindsets, and the belief that “teacher knows best.”

Many parents place full responsibility on the education system, blindly trusting every word of a teacher as if it’s pathar ki lakeer — unquestionable and final.

They silence their own child’s pain, overlook their cries for help, and unknowingly deepen the damage.

In doing so, they lose emotional connection with their children, who start feeling unloved, misunderstood, and unheard — even in their own homes.

The truth is, parents are victims too — of the same flawed system, of past parenting, of social pressure. But that cannot be an excuse anymore.

The entire structure — teachers, schools, parents, government — must evolve. Because all these problems are deeply interconnected. One failure triggers another. And the child ends up carrying the weight of it all.

Conclusion: The Time to Change Is Now

We need a revolution — not a reform — in our education system. We must demand:

1. Mandatory psychology qualifications for all teachers.
2. High salaries and incentives for teachers to attract real talent.
3. Zero tolerance for emotional abuse or humiliation in classrooms.
4. Mandatory mental health counselors in all schools.
5. Proper civic education as part of every curriculum.
6. Punishment for corrupt practices in educational departments.

Because every time we ignore the flaws in our education system, we are creating another broken adult, another lost child, another shattered future.

India doesn’t need more engineers or doctors. It needs better humans. And that begins in the classroom.

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Source: 

• Centre for Policy Research, 2024 – Urban Civic Literacy in India: A National Survey. If unavailable, this statistic may be treated as a general estimate for illustrative purposes.

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