When Teachers Become Machines: The Forgotten Dignity of Teaching in the Private Education System

There is something deeply wrong with an education system that wants teachers to build the character of children while systematically breaking the dignity of the people who teach them.

We talk endlessly about student success, academic performance, fee recovery, results, admissions, discipline, attendance, marketing and institutional reputation.

But somewhere in this race, we seem to have forgotten one basic question:

Who is the teacher?

Is a teacher merely an employee who enters the institution in the morning, performs an endless list of duties, stands for hours, teaches classes, supervises breaks, performs morning duties, manages students, completes paperwork, attends meetings, prepares results, handles administrative tasks and leaves exhausted at the end of the day?

Is a teacher a machine?

Does a teacher have no emotions?

No family?

No physical limits?

No difficult days?

No right to rest?

No right to ask for leave?

No right to question unfair treatment?

No right to expect recognition for work?

And perhaps the most painful question of all:

When did respecting a teacher become an unnecessary luxury?

The Private Education System: When Education Becomes a Business

Private education is not inherently wrong.

Private institutions can provide excellent education, innovation, better facilities and opportunities. Many dedicated people working in private education genuinely care about students and teachers.

The problem begins when an educational institution starts behaving as though education is only a business and teachers are merely a cost.

Then everything becomes measurable through money.

A student is valuable because the student pays a fee.

A parent is important because the parent is a customer.

An admission is celebrated because it generates revenue.

A result is important because it improves the institution's reputation.

But the teacher?

The person who actually stands in front of that student every day and teaches, explains, motivates, corrects, listens and guides?

Suddenly, that teacher becomes replaceable.

The irony is almost unbearable.

The institution needs the teacher to produce the result, but the teacher is often treated as though he or she has produced nothing.

We celebrate the student who receives the certificate but forget the teacher who spent months preparing that student for it.

We celebrate the toppers but forget the teacher who stayed after class explaining the same concept for the tenth time.

We celebrate admissions but rarely ask how exhausted the people responsible for teaching those students have become.

What Is the Actual Role of a Teacher?

A teacher is not merely a person who delivers a lecture.

A teacher is a mentor, guide, communicator, role model, evaluator, counsellor, motivator and builder of human beings.

A teacher does not simply transfer information.

A teacher influences how a student thinks.

A teacher can change a student's confidence.

A teacher can make a weak student believe:

"Maybe I can do this."

A teacher can notice that a quiet student is struggling when everyone else sees only silence.

A teacher can encourage a student who has stopped believing in herself.

A teacher can teach discipline without humiliation.

A teacher can correct without destroying confidence.

A teacher can disagree without insulting.

A teacher can exercise authority without abusing power.

That is why teaching is not ordinary labour.

It is human work performed on human beings.

And because its material product is not always immediately visible, society often underestimates it.

A carpenter produces a chair.

A builder produces a building.

A factory produces a product.

But a teacher produces something much more difficult to measure:

a mind.

And sometimes, a teacher helps produce a life.

Islam Did Not Reduce Knowledge to a Business Transaction

For Muslims, the question becomes even deeper.

The Qur'an begins its first revelation with:

“Read in the Name of your Lord Who created.”

The opening verses of Surah Al-'Alaq connect reading, the pen and teaching humanity what it did not know.

Think about the symbolism.

The beginning of revelation is not an announcement about wealth.

It is not about status.

It is not about institutional power.

It begins with knowledge.

The Qur'an repeatedly elevates knowledge.

Allah asks:

“Are those who know equal to those who do not know?”
— Qur'an 39:9

And in another verse:

“Allah will raise those of you who believe and those who have been given knowledge in rank.”
— Qur'an 58:11

The message is clear:

Knowledge has a rank.

And the people through whom knowledge is preserved, transmitted and developed therefore perform a role that cannot reasonably be reduced to merely punching in and punching out.

The Qur'an also says:

“Ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.”
— Qur'an 16:43

In its original context, this verse concerns asking those who possess knowledge regarding matters one does not know. The broader principle nevertheless illustrates the value Islam places on expertise and learning.

“The Scholars Are the Heirs of the Prophets”

One of the most powerful statements concerning knowledge appears in a hadith recorded in Sunan Abi Dawud.

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is reported to have said that those who pursue knowledge are on a path to Paradise, that angels show pleasure toward the seeker of knowledge, and that “the learned are the heirs of the Prophets.” The narration is graded sahih by al-Albani.

This does not mean every person who calls themselves a teacher automatically becomes a saint or a scholar.

Rather, it demonstrates something fundamental:

Knowledge is not insignificant in Islam.

The transmission of knowledge is an honourable responsibility.

So how strange is it when a society claims to value education while treating the people who provide that education as though their dignity has no value?

But Respect Does Not Mean Teachers Are Infallible

There is another important distinction.

Respecting teachers does not mean teachers should never be questioned.

Teachers can make mistakes.

Teachers can be unfair.

Teachers can misuse authority.

Teachers can lack professionalism.

A teacher is not automatically right simply because he or she is a teacher.

Islam does not demand blind obedience to human beings.

But there is a huge difference between accountability and humiliation.

A teacher can be corrected without being insulted.

A teacher can be evaluated without being degraded.

A teacher can be disciplined without being publicly shamed.

A teacher can be held responsible without being treated as disposable.

Accountability protects an institution. Humiliation destroys people.

What About the Teacher's Right to Rest?

This is where many modern institutions become contradictory.

We teach students about mental health.

We tell them to manage stress.

We tell them to take care of themselves.

We tell them that burnout is dangerous.

Then we turn around and expect teachers to stand throughout the day, perform continuous duties, teach multiple classes, supervise breaks, manage discipline, complete administrative work, attend meetings and remain energetic and smiling throughout.

And if the teacher sits down for a few minutes?

Suddenly, it becomes a problem.

Why?

Does sitting on a chair make a teacher less professional?

Does standing continuously improve teaching?

Does physical exhaustion make someone a better educator?

There is a difference between being present and being productive.

A teacher does not become more dedicated merely because she is physically exhausted.

Sometimes the teacher who sits for five minutes and regains energy can teach better than the teacher who has been standing for six hours with an exhausted body and mind.

The objective should be effective teaching, not theatrical suffering.

A Teacher Is Not a Robot

Perhaps this is the greatest problem.

Many institutions behave as though teachers have only two settings:

ON and OFF.

Turn the key in the morning.

The teacher works.

Another duty appears.

The teacher works.

Another class.

The teacher works.

Break duty.

The teacher works.

Morning duty.

The teacher works.

Leaving duty.

The teacher works.

Extra task.

The teacher works.

Someone is absent.

The teacher works.

Someone needs leave.

Suddenly:

“Why?”

But teachers are human beings.

They become tired.

They become sick.

They have parents.

They have children.

They have families.

They have personal emergencies.

They experience grief.

They experience anxiety.

They experience exhaustion.

They have lives outside the classroom.

A workplace that demands humanity from its teachers while refusing to treat teachers humanely is contradicting the very purpose of education.

The Crime of Asking for Leave

There is something particularly disturbing about cultures where requesting legitimate leave is treated almost like committing a moral offence.

A teacher asks for one day.

Immediately the questions begin:

“Why do you need it?”

“Who will take your class?”

“Why can't you manage?”

“Can't you adjust?”

Of course, institutions have responsibilities.

Classes must continue.

Students need teachers.

Work cannot simply stop.

But professional management means planning for human realities, not pretending humans never have emergencies.

If an institution collapses because one teacher needs a day off, perhaps the problem is not the teacher.

Perhaps the system lacks adequate staffing and contingency planning.

A healthy institution should have a structure that can survive the occasional absence of an employee.

When Authority Becomes Humiliation

There is an enormous difference between authority and disrespect.

A principal has authority.

A coordinator has authority.

A head has authority.

But authority does not give anyone permission to humiliate another person.

Imagine a principal publicly insulting a teacher in front of students.

What does that teach those students?

That teachers deserve respect?

Or that authority means you may humiliate people beneath you?

The contradiction is obvious.

We tell students:

Respect your teachers.

Then students witness teachers being publicly disrespected by those above them.

What lesson are they actually learning?

Perhaps the lesson is:

Respect belongs to whoever has more power.

And that is a dangerous lesson for an educational institution to teach.

Power Without Character Is Dangerous

This is where philosophy becomes relevant.

The problem is not simply that some institutions have strict rules.

The deeper problem is what happens when power becomes disconnected from ethics.

A position gives someone authority.

But a position does not automatically give someone wisdom.

A title does not create character.

A designation does not create leadership.

A chair does not make a person superior.

Leadership is tested by how someone treats people who cannot easily challenge them.

Anyone can be polite to someone more powerful.

The real test of character is how we behave toward those who depend upon our decisions.

Plato: Education Is About the Soul, Not Merely Information

For Plato, education was far more profound than simply transferring information.

His philosophy of education connects education with the formation of the person—the development of habits, values, character and the direction of the soul.

This means that a school does not educate students only through textbooks.

It educates through its culture.

Students observe how adults speak.

They observe how authority behaves.

They observe how disagreement is handled.

They observe whether weaker people are respected.

They observe whether mistakes are corrected with wisdom or humiliation.

In other words:

The institution itself becomes a teacher.

And this is why workplace culture matters educationally.

A school that teaches kindness in the classroom but practices humiliation in the staff room is teaching two contradictory lessons.

John Dewey: Education Is a Human and Democratic Experience

John Dewey, one of the most influential philosophers of education, rejected the idea of education as merely filling students with information.

For Dewey, education was connected with experience, growth, communication and democratic life. He argued that schools are important places where people learn habits of cooperation, communication and responsible participation.

That idea has an important implication for today's institutions:

If teachers are denied dignity, participation and respectful communication, the institution itself is failing to model the values it claims to teach.

How can an institution teach students communication while silencing teachers?

How can it teach empathy while ignoring staff exhaustion?

How can it teach respect while using humiliation as management?

How can it teach democracy while treating every decision from above as unquestionable?

Education begins to contradict itself.

Paulo Freire: When Education Becomes a System of Power

Paulo Freire offers perhaps an even sharper critique.

In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire criticized the “banking” model of education, in which knowledge becomes something deposited from an authority into passive recipients. He instead advocated dialogue, critical consciousness and a more humanizing educational relationship.

Although Freire was primarily discussing teacher-student relationships, his ideas can also make us think about institutional structures.

What happens when every relationship becomes hierarchical?

Management commands.

Teachers obey.

Teachers command.

Students obey.

Nobody communicates.

Nobody questions.

Nobody listens.

Education then becomes less about dialogue and more about power.

And once power becomes the central language of an institution, humiliation can easily replace leadership.

The Hidden Curriculum

There is another concept worth considering:

The hidden curriculum.

Students do not learn only what appears in their textbooks.

They learn what an institution silently teaches through its behaviour.

If a school teaches:

“Respect everyone.”

But humiliates its staff—

the hidden curriculum says:

Respect is conditional.

If a school teaches:

“Value human dignity.”

But treats employees as disposable—

the hidden curriculum says:

People are valuable only when they are useful.

If a school teaches:

“Be empathetic.”

But punishes every legitimate human need—

the hidden curriculum says:

Empathy is for students, not workers.

And this is perhaps one of the greatest failures of modern education.

What Is the Value of a Teacher's Labour?

Another uncomfortable question:

Why is asking for the reward of one's labour treated as greed?

A teacher does not work merely for praise.

Teaching is a profession.

Teachers have qualifications.

They spend years studying.

They prepare lectures.

They check assignments.

They design assessments.

They evaluate students.

They maintain records.

They attend meetings.

They perform duties.

They communicate with parents.

They handle behavioural problems.

They invest emotional energy.

And at the end of the month, they deserve their salary—not as a favour, but as compensation for labour.

There is nothing immoral about wanting fair compensation.

There is nothing shameful about asking whether additional responsibilities are being fairly recognized.

There is nothing greedy about wanting professional respect.

Work deserves dignity, and dignity includes fair treatment.

Islam Also Commands Justice

Islam does not teach employers or people in authority to exploit those beneath them.

The Prophet ﷺ emphasized justice toward those under one's authority. Sahih Muslim records a hadith describing the virtue of those who are fair and just in their rulings and in their treatment of those under their authority.

This principle is enormous.

If you possess authority, your authority comes with responsibility.

A principal is not simply someone who can give orders.

A principal is someone entrusted with people.

A coordinator is not merely someone who can demand compliance.

A coordinator is someone entrusted with a team.

Leadership is amanah.

And an amanah is not a licence for arrogance.

The Prophet ﷺ and the Ethics of Gentleness

Perhaps one of the strongest responses to harsh institutional culture comes from the Sunnah itself.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Whoever is deprived of gentleness is deprived of goodness.”

This is recorded in Sahih Muslim.

Another narration states that Allah is gentle and loves gentleness, and that He gives through gentleness what He does not give through harshness.

And another narration states that kindness beautifies whatever it enters, while its absence makes things defective.

These principles are not limited to family life.

They challenge our entire understanding of leadership.

A workplace can have rules without cruelty.

A principal can have authority without arrogance.

A teacher can be corrected without humiliation.

A student can be disciplined without being psychologically crushed.

Firmness and cruelty are not synonyms.

A Teacher Is Not More Valuable Than a Sweeper—Nor Is a Sweeper Less Human

There is another point worth making carefully.

When we complain that a teacher is treated “like a sweeper,” we should not imply that a sanitation worker has less human dignity.

A sweeper also deserves respect.

A cleaner also works.

A security guard also works.

A driver also works.

A teacher also works.

The problem is not that one profession deserves humanity and another does not.

The problem is that every human being deserves dignity, and every profession deserves fair treatment.

The teacher's particular contribution, however, is intellectual and formative: the teacher is entrusted with educating the minds and character of the next generation.

Therefore, educational institutions should understand the unique professional responsibility teachers carry.

The Teacher Who Is Expected to Smile While Breaking Inside

Perhaps the most invisible part of teaching is emotional labour.

A teacher walks into a classroom carrying personal problems but is expected to smile.

A teacher may have slept badly but must teach energetically.

A teacher may have received hurtful words from management but must enter the classroom and motivate students.

A teacher may be worried about finances but must encourage students to dream.

A teacher may be physically exhausted but must maintain classroom discipline.

Students see the teacher's lesson.

They rarely see the teacher's burden.

And management may see attendance sheets and performance reports.

It may not see the emotional energy required to remain patient with thirty, forty or fifty students every day.

Teaching consumes emotional energy as well as physical energy.

What Happens When Teachers Burn Out?

When teachers are continuously overworked, humiliated and treated as replaceable, several things eventually happen.

They lose motivation.

They stop giving extra effort.

They stop volunteering.

They stop creating.

They stop caring beyond the minimum requirement.

And eventually, the institution receives exactly what its management culture has produced:

minimum effort.

This is not because teachers suddenly became bad professionals.

Sometimes people simply stop giving their best when their best is repeatedly treated as worthless.

If an institution wants extraordinary commitment, it must create conditions where commitment is respected.

You Cannot Demand Loyalty While Practicing Disrespect

This is perhaps one of the greatest contradictions in many workplaces.

Institutions want teachers to be loyal.

They want teachers to stay late.

They want teachers to handle extra responsibilities.

They want teachers to care about students.

They want teachers to protect institutional reputation.

They want teachers to go beyond their job descriptions.

But loyalty cannot be demanded through fear.

Loyalty grows where people feel valued.

If a teacher is constantly humiliated, threatened, ignored or treated as replaceable, the institution should not be surprised when emotional attachment disappears.

A salary may buy someone's working hours.

It cannot purchase their heart.

The Real Question Is Not “How Much Can a Teacher Do?”

The better question is:

“What does a teacher need in order to teach well?”

Perhaps the answer includes:

• reasonable working hours;
• manageable duties;
• proper breaks;
• respectful communication;
• professional autonomy;
• fair compensation;
• transparent leave policies;
• opportunities for professional development;
• psychological safety;
• recognition for additional responsibilities;
• constructive feedback;
• protection from public humiliation;
• and leadership based on justice rather than fear.

These are not extravagant demands.

They are basic components of a healthy professional environment.

A Good Principal Is Not the One Who Makes Teachers Afraid

A weak leader often measures authority by fear.

A strong leader measures leadership by trust.

A weak leader asks:

“How many people obey me?”

A strong leader asks:

“How many people can grow under my leadership?”

A weak leader humiliates someone in public to demonstrate power.

A strong leader corrects privately and builds publicly.

A weak leader looks for mistakes.

A strong leader looks for solutions.

A weak leader thinks employees are replaceable machines.

A strong leader understands that people who feel respected are more likely to give their best.

So, Who Is a Teacher?

A teacher is the person who may become the reason a child does not give up.

A teacher is the person who can turn confusion into understanding.

A teacher is the person who may notice potential before the student recognizes it.

A teacher is the person who can teach a student not only what to think about, but how to think.

A teacher is someone who repeatedly gives knowledge away without becoming poorer.

A teacher enters a classroom with dozens of minds in front of them and tries to leave each one slightly better than it was before.

That deserves respect.

Not worship.

Not blind obedience.

Not immunity from accountability.

Respect.

The Education System We Need

We do not need an education system where teachers are worshipped.

We need an education system where teachers are respected.

We do not need teachers who are afraid of management.

We need teachers who can communicate honestly with management.

We do not need institutions where students are treated as customers and teachers as service workers.

We need institutions where students, teachers and management understand that education is a shared responsibility.

We do not need leadership based on humiliation.

We need leadership based on justice.

We do not need endless duties simply to prove that teachers are working.

We need meaningful work that improves learning.

We do not need teachers to stand all day merely because sitting looks “lazy.”

We need teachers who have enough physical and mental energy to teach effectively.

We do not need teachers who obey because they are afraid.

We need teachers who cooperate because they believe in the institution.

Before We Ask What Teachers Owe the Institution, Ask What the Institution Owes Teachers

This is perhaps the question we should begin asking.

What does an institution owe the person to whom it entrusts forty young minds every morning?

It owes them:

dignity.

fairness.

professional respect.

reasonable working conditions.

clear expectations.

fair compensation.

constructive criticism.

humanity.

And above all:

the right to remain human while doing human work.

A Final Question for Everyone

So I want to ask—not only principals, not only owners, not only teachers, but parents, students and society as a whole:

What is a teacher to you?

Is a teacher simply someone you pay to teach your child?

Is a teacher simply an employee?

Is a teacher simply a person responsible for producing good grades?

Or is a teacher one of the people entrusted with shaping the next generation?

If you believe the last one, then we must change how we treat teachers.

Because an institution cannot claim to value education while humiliating educators.

It cannot preach empathy while practicing cruelty.

It cannot teach respect while disrespecting its own staff.

It cannot demand passion while exhausting the people expected to provide it.

And it cannot build emotionally healthy students by creating emotionally unhealthy workplaces for teachers.

The private education system needs to remember something it seems to have forgotten:

Teachers are not machines.

They do not run on commands.

They do not have unlimited energy.

They do not stop having feelings when they enter the institution.

They do not become less human because they receive a salary.

And they should not have to beg for basic dignity simply because they chose teaching as a profession.

Perhaps the real crisis in education is not that teachers have stopped teaching.

Perhaps the crisis is that we have stopped teaching institutions how to treat teachers.

And if education is truly about creating better human beings, then the first place that education must begin is not the classroom.

It must begin with the people standing inside it.

Because the teacher who is respected can teach respect.

The teacher who is heard can teach dialogue.

The teacher who is treated with dignity can teach dignity.

And the teacher who is allowed to remain human can help students become better human beings.

Before demanding more from teachers, give them something too: respect.