Author: Aaron Johns

Education today is more about teachers following orders like obedient robots than about encouraging rational thinking. Teachers have become more commercially oriented and are no longer concerned with truly teaching and nurturing students. Instead, they focus on filling out forms and publishing lavish research papers that lack substance. In class, they merely read from slides or PDFs like narrators, instead of teaching students the practical know-how required to sharpen their skills. They distribute question banks and expect students to learn solely from them.

This approach leads students to stop using their reasoning abilities and become addicted to the “candy” of rote learning. They often resent authentic teachers who genuinely teach because such teaching requires them to think. If a generation cannot think, someone else will think for them—and that leads to manipulation and control by AI and others.

Today’s department heads, principals, and management seem concerned only with earning points and maintaining a false image of an educational institution. They appear less concerned about student welfare and more focused on money, reputation, and profit. Institutions are beginning to function more like corporate entities than places dedicated to learning. It has evolved into a business-oriented activity rather than a social service.

The education space has also become a political minefield of favoritism. A teacher who genuinely teaches well and nurtures students is sometimes treated as a nuisance because rational thinkers are not preferred over professors who simply follow orders—even if they teach poorly and publish research papers with no real-world impact. In many cases, good teachers are shown the door while ineffective ones remain. If this is the state of education, we are doomed for all of the future generations.

Where have all the good old professors gone—those who encouraged students to think outside the box and be creative? It seems that true educators are disappearing, while those motivated primarily by monetary benefits are entering the profession. Today, we need genuinely skilled PhDs and dedicated educators who can contribute meaningfully to the nation’s growth—not merely namesake PhDs.

Unfortunately, in today’s classrooms, AI is not being used effectively. Instead of enhancing critical thinking, it often encourages students to drift away from real-world reasoning. They begin to live in an idealistic bubble, which can ultimately lead to self-inflicted setbacks. Many students would rather pay to borrow intelligence from AI than think for themselves for free.

If people do not open their eyes soon, the next generation may become intellectually passive and easily controlled. It is time to wake up and act.

Disclaimer: For those fuddy-duddies who may misconstrue my views, this article does not reflect any particular institute, school, college, university or country.

Education, a word once synonymous with knowledge and wisdom, now feels more like a parrot in a cage, forced to imitate rather than create. Creativity is lost because evaluation methods are outdated. Synthetic benchmarks like program outcomes and course outcomes, implemented in the most ridiculous sense, don’t truly measure a student’s skills. They only produce bloated figures, but when students step into the real world, many struggle to survive and cannot find secure jobs.

Many students who don’t perform well academically end up doing well in life because they focus on honing practical skills, which eventually shape them into remarkable individuals. The academic space is too rigid, stuck in theory with very little practical application. It blindly follows structured taxonomies instead of embracing flexibility.

Today, institutes focus more on collecting accreditation points than on the welfare of students and staff. Teaching staff are overwhelmed with administrative tasks, leaving them with insufficient time for meaningful research endeavors. Yet, institutes also push them to publish papers each year to gain points, not realizing that quality research requires time. When rushed, research papers are futile. In the pursuit of accreditation points, education itself is compromised. We shouldn’t chase points; the points should come to us if we are truly focusing on education.

The job situation is challenging, and educational institutes are not inclined to change outdated methods. Some senior staff resist change and stop younger educators who want to bring positive change. They mold these educators into a system of submission, reminiscent of a scene from George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four.”

Today, many students prefer industry certifications over degrees, as they build real technical skills needed in the job market. Rather than focusing on theoretical skills, we should be building students’ skills holistically. Accreditation points won’t matter if we fail to deliver skill-based education that is relevant.

We need to change, become more responsible, and be educators whom students can look up to and remember. They should remember you for the lifelong lessons you imparted and for the times you corrected them when they were wrong. Let us also remember that learning is a two-way street. Teachers may have more knowledge and experience, but there will be moments when students teach us something new. Our role is to guide, nurture, and prepare them for life, not just exams.

Disclaimer: For those fuddy-duddies who may misconstrue my views, this article does not reflect any particular institute, college, university or country.