Guru Brahma … Guru Vishnu Guru Devo… Time was when this Sanskrit sloka had innate meaning in it following the innate philosophy behind it. The Gurukulas and Educational institutions were revered as temples of learning and teachers literally worshipped for their esteemed role in moulding their career and imparting knowledge to the students.

The present situation of Educational institutions have jumped on the commercial bandwagon, and have turned into big moneyspinning machines with the intention to just fill the seats and give wide publicity to it. Essential requirements of the course like, the attendance, percentage of marks are decided by the college without the students attending the class hours. This is the present trend of any professional course of education. The plight of engineering colleges is worse than any other graduation course conducted in our state. One who joins engineering course need not study at all.

Questions for the internal exams are given prior to the exams conducted and answers for the same are dictated. Exams are confined to these questions. This is the present status of 90 per cent of A.P engineering colleges. These colleges are turning out young men who are certified as “engineers” but not qualified to be employed except perhaps by some government organisations. This bubble of A.P becoming a reservoir of talented engineers will burst soon.

The irony here is that the Students are not bothered about the quality of education and is still reckoned invaluable, yet the means of acquiring the same is treated with much contemptuous disrespect, and the damaging consequences are more than apparent for all to see.

Teaching in Crisis
Teaching is never easy in the past or in the present. Teachers mould the lives that they influence on. Lessons learned from teachers remain with the students throughout their life. Teachers break down barriers and reach into the soul of the students that they are responsible for. They do not get the recognition or gratitude they have earned. A true teacher as Mahatma Gandhiji said, should influence his students/pupils miles away (even in his absence) such teachers are a rare case today. Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam’s autobiography (Wings of Fire) speaks a lot about his teachers who influenced him. Teaching is undoubtedly a ‘Noble profession’, but this noble profession has been reduced to a thankless job.

The situation of a teacher is so precarious and he/she is made a miserable victim of both parents and administration of the entire affair. The sad part of being a good teacher is that while professional satisfaction remains an elusive dream they end up feeling utterly disappointed and dejected. Even the monetary benefits a college professor depends on how well he/she bargains with the management. However, recession not for software professionals, but it is with the faculty working in the private engineering institutions. Teachers need encouragement and support from the community to feel that their devotion to students is appreciated.

Teachers are of two types:
1. Teachers who are really interested in this Noble Profession of teaching 

2. Teachers who take teaching as a stop gap. (Before getting into any MNC or other jobs) The Teacher who is really interested in teaching profession will surely become a constant learner and update his timely knowledge and keep himself abreast with the current trends. Such a teacher can definitely influence the students.

The teachers with the motto of stop gap profession are mostly dominating the teaching departments of almost every engineering college. These certified engineers in turn become the teachers for the freshers without learning the essence of engineering education.

They mostly use bilingual teaching as they themselves are poor in English language. Obviously the student community imitates their teachers and struggles to improve their communication skills. Only 10 per cent of engineering graduates realise the essence of the course whereas the remaining make the course pass by them and sometimes with backlogs struggling to complete the course. Engineering education has become a farce.
Steps to improve The following steps must be followed or adopted by the teaching community in order to bring back the respect they deserve.

1. Individually every member of the teaching community should have commitment towards teaching through  innovative methods suitable to the class, matching with the recent trends. Teaching styles should be adapted to students' learning patterns and preferences and  be discussion-based or other creative approaches to kindle a true love for learning.

2. They should be like facilitators, and encourage more interaction with students so that the student community accepts their teachers as their friends and philosophers, which further builds confidence and respect on their teachers.

3. They must always be proactive and try to inculcate the same with the student community. The management should also support the teaching community to lead with innovative policy initiatives and also create a congenial atmosphere both financially and morally.

4. Education begins at home and the first teacher for the child is his/her own mother. So it is imperative that parents do continue caring for their ward even in the graduation courses and set a good example of themselves and behave responsibly. Moulding the teenager to a right path is a collective task. Only if all the hands like the student+ teacher+ management+ parent+ peer influence come together the task is fulfilled. Insist on the 4P’s and highlight on the aspect of performance which is the need of the hour.

5. Motivate the student by making him realize the importance of Communication skills and Soft skills.To sum up, young minds are still receptive and can be moulded with quality teaching. Inculcating respect is the key – respect for each other, respect for the teacher and above all, respect for learning. The result will be caring and motivated students with a fiery desire to learn!