Disrespect for teachers

Declining respect, prestige and recognition have resulted in a mass migration of teachers into the private sector. There they find more attractive salaries for work that is less stressful.

Up to the 1960s the teacher's role was clear, with the prestige and authority that knowledge provided. This came under attack when the intelligentsia argued that all knowledge was relative and all authority was suspect. Increasing acceptance of this view led to the accelerating erosion of the function of the teacher as a transmitter of knowledge.