There is an uncomfortable silence at the heart of academia —

a silence that does not appear in brochures, policy notes, ranking reports, convocation speeches, or alumni magazines.

It appears only in classrooms.

And often, the silence is there because the teacher isn’t.

Ghost teaching is not about empty classrooms.

It is about empty presence —

teachers who show up physically but not intellectually, emotionally, or pedagogically.

Some walk in.

Few actually teach.

Even fewer inspire.

This is the most painful underbelly of academia:

the quiet decline of classroom quality.

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Scene 1: The Attendance-Driven Lecture

A professor walks into class.

He opens a notebook that hasn’t been updated in years.

He begins dictating notes at the same pace, tone, and rhythm he used when Nokia was still a status symbol.

Students copy.

Some stare.

Some scroll.

Some sleep in the front row with open books as camouflage.

At the end, the professor says mechanically,

“Attendance will be uploaded.”

The class ends.

Learning never began.

This is ghost teaching —

not absence of teachers,

but absence of teaching.

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Scene 2: The Western Parallel — Boston, 2 PM

A Harvard freshman whispers to her roommate,

“Our professor has three teaching assistants.

He never actually teaches.

He just gives speeches.”

Her roommate laughs,

“Ghost teaching with prestige.”

Even elite institutions aren’t immune —

their ghosts wear better suits.

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Scene 3: The Government College Reality

An assistant professor in a tier-3 town enters class.

He spends half the time taking calls from the administration.

The rest is spent explaining only what will come in exams.

A student asks a conceptual question.

The professor smiles awkwardly,

“Beta, that is not in the syllabus.”

He isn’t incompetent.

He is scared of deviating,

scared of finishing late,

scared of being asked why he didn’t “stick to the unit plan.”

This is ghost teaching created by compliance.

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Scene 4: The Private University Showroom Classroom

The building is five-star.

The classroom is designer.

The AV system is futuristic.

But the teacher uses it to show PDFs.

Copied slides.

Outdated diagrams.

Zero discussion.

Zero critical thinking.

Students walk out saying,

“Sir is nice…

but class is useless.”

This is ghost teaching in high definition.

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Scene 5: The IIT Irony

A brilliant researcher enters a first-year class.

His ideas are world-class.

His teaching… is incomprehensible.

Students whisper,

“He knows everything… except how to teach it.”

This is the paradox of elite academia:

great researchers,

average teachers.

Ghost teaching emerges not from ignorance

but from misplaced incentives.

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Why Does Ghost Teaching Exist?

1. Teaching Is a Low-Reward Activity

Promotions reward:

• research

• publications

• projects

• conference papers

• citations

• grants

Teaching excellence?

It gets applause…

but no career progression.

2. Teachers Are Not Trained to Teach

Most faculty know subjects.

Few know pedagogy.

None are taught pedagogy.

Teaching becomes survival, not craft.

3. Curriculum Is Outdated

Teachers cannot ignite curiosity in content they don’t believe in.

4. Class Size Is Unmanageable

Large classes drain energy.

Small classes drain incentives.

5. Emotional Exhaustion Creates Intellectual Withdrawal

Burnout leads to ghost teaching.

Not because teachers don’t care…

but because they have nothing left to give.

6. Students Changed Faster Than Teachers

Teachers teach the past.

Students live in the future.

The gap grows quietly.

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Scene 6: A Global Conference, Seoul

A professor from Zurich admits,

“In my first decade, I taught passionately.

In my second, I taught efficiently.

Now… I mostly deliver.”

His colleague from Singapore nods:

“I am present in class.

But my mind is in my inbox.”

Ghost teaching isn’t laziness.

It is disengagement born from exhaustion.

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The Emotional Truth Beneath Ghost Teaching

Behind every ghost teacher is a person who once cared.

Who once tried.

Who once experimented.

Who once believed teaching could shape lives.

But then the system broke them:

• too many classes

• too little respect

• too many committees

• too little autonomy

• too many rules

• too little support

• too much scrutiny

• too little appreciation

Ghost teaching is not a failure of teachers.

It is a failure of the ecosystem.

People don’t become ghosts by choice.

They become ghosts by circumstance.

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The Quietest Crisis

Students don’t complain loudly.

They just disconnect silently.

Administrators don’t notice.

They see full timetables and assume learning is happening.

Policymakers don’t ask.

They track compliance, not engagement.

Teachers don’t admit it.

They mask fatigue with professionalism.

Ghost teaching is the only crisis

that everyone sees

but nobody confronts.

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The Underbelly Essence

The real danger is not that teachers are absent.

It’s that teaching is.

And when teaching disappears,

learning becomes optional,

curiosity becomes collateral damage,

and classrooms become waiting rooms

for the real world.

Ghost teaching is not the end of education.

It is the quiet decay that precedes collapse.