Online debate erupts as educators reveal they are drowning in administrative and technical duties that have nothing to do with actual teaching.
A TEACHER walking into a classroom is increasingly expected to do far more than deliver lessons, with online users questioning why educators are now expected to shoulder administrative, technical and even personal responsibilities beyond teaching.
The discussion began after a Threads user shared a post highlighting the wide range of duties teachers are expected to perform outside the classroom.
The original post described teachers as taking on responsibilities beyond education, including roles similar to those of clerks, journalists, coaches, technicians, designers and editors.
Sharing what appeared to be a personal observation, the user questioned whether such expectations had gone too far.
“Teachers should just focus on teaching. Is that too much to ask?” the user wrote, adding that while multitasking is often part of the profession, responsibilities unrelated to education should be regarded separately.
The user argued that lesson planning, classroom teaching, assessing students, providing feedback and supporting their development already require significant effort, raising concerns that additional duties may distract teachers from their core responsibilities.
Several netizens responded by sharing their own views on the growing demands placed on educators.
One user said teachers are also expected to serve as “police officers, wardens, first aid officers, data analysts and researchers”, highlighting the wide range of roles they believe teachers now perform.
Another user, who said they had experience as both a lecturer and a former schoolteacher, commented that focusing solely on teaching had enabled them to provide better support to students, while expressing hope that teachers’ working conditions would improve.
Some users believed the situation was unlikely to change. One netizen commented: “Impossible. As long as they can keep adding to teachers’ workload, they will. Sigh.”
Others pointed out that the issue has existed for years. One user recalled that even during their school days, teachers often appeared to shoulder numerous responsibilities on their own, while another said teachers frequently had to act as mediators between various parties.
The discussion also reflected personal frustrations, with one user saying they had reached a point where they felt exhausted by the demands of the profession, while another joked that the description of teachers taking on so many roles was “far too honest”.