Photo Courtesy: Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay : For representational purpose only
Swuka Assumi
Dimapur
The relentless burden placed on educators has pushed the teaching profession to a critical breaking point. Rather than being allowed to focus on their primary mission—nurturing young minds and imparting knowledge—teachers are routinely loaded with an exhausting array of administrative and non-academic duties. From election assignments and door-to-door census surveys to managing student health records, nutrition tracking, and vaccination drives, the scope of a teacher's job has expanded far beyond the boundaries of the classroom.
This endless cycle of non-teaching responsibilities is further compounded by intrusive oversight and redundant bureaucracy. Mandatory digital attendance apps track every entrance and exit, while teachers are forced to repeatedly submit the same service documents—appointment orders, regularization papers, and training certificates—multiple times a year. In an era of digital infrastructure, the absence of a centralized, one-time document portal feels less like record-keeping and more like systematic harassment.
Adding to this operational strain is the constant disruption of the academic calendar. Frequent mandatory training seminars, online workshops, and administrative programs interrupt active teaching schedules, fragmenting the learning experience for students. Yet, despite being subjected to strict monitoring and unyielding demands, many educators face chronic delays in receiving their monthly salaries. Being expected to perform endless duties for months without pay places immense financial and emotional distress on teachers, who also have families to support and personal lives to maintain.
Teachers are fundamental to society, yet they are treated as an all-purpose workforce for every administrative task. Until educational authorities streamline administrative demands, digitize record-keeping permanently, ensure timely remuneration, and protect instructional time, teachers will remain trapped under an unreasonable workload. It is time to restore dignity to the profession and leave teachers free to do what they do best: teach peacefully in the classroom.
