Who Loses When Teachers Are Attacked

Recent incidents at the University of Delhi (DU), where student union leaders publicly assaulted and intimidated teachers, reflect a troubling trend of calculated displays of power on campuses. 

• Such acts are not isolated but indicative of a deeper erosion of academic norms.

The Culture of Impunity

• Performative Violence: Assaults on teachers by student leaders are often not impulsive outbursts but strategic acts aimed at gaining cheap publicity and asserting political dominance.
• Extreme Precedents: While DU has been relatively stable, other regions have seen teachers killed or maimed for upholding academic integrity, such as preventing cheating or setting rigorous exam questions.

Four Critical Implications

• Erosion of Human Exchange: Teaching is a deep human exchange built on trust. 
  • When dignity is attacked, the process becomes a mechanical exercise, stripped of the teacher’s warmth, creativity, and emotional investment.
• Crisis of Evaluation: Teachers under threat cannot assess students objectively. 
  • To avoid confrontation, many resort to lenient grading, leading to grade inflation where marks lose credibility in the eyes of employers.
• Safety & Intervention: Teachers are the primary protectors of students. 
  • If they feel unsafe, they withdraw from student welfare, leaving young learners to navigate the often-unjust police administration alone.
• Institutional Exodus: Historical data from states like West Bengal and Bihar shows that violent politicisation leads to a mass migration of talent. 
  • Reputed centers can take generations to recover from a culture of violence.

The Integrity of the Teaching Community

• Moral Resilience: Despite claims that student disrespect stems from declining teacher quality, the teaching community at DU has largely maintained integrity.
• Resisting Corruption: Unlike many other state institutions, there is no evidence of teachers monetizing admissions or internal marks, proving they still uphold a sense of moral responsibility.

The Ultimate Victims

• The Student Burden: Teachers often adapt to survive while drawing salaries; however, students pay the price through poor-quality education and unsafe campuses.
• Alumni Credibility: Indifferent alumni risk losing the market value of their degrees as the current reputation of their alma mater declines.

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Conclusion

The targeted humiliation of teachers transforms vibrant campuses into mechanical institutions, eventually devaluing degrees and forcing a brain drain. When the sanctity of the classroom is compromised for political theater, the ultimate cost is borne by the students’ future and the institution’s global standing.

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