In recent years, Indian edtech — and coaching in general — has fallen into a dangerous trap: the “star teacher” culture. Teachers are packaged like celebrities, with their worth measured by YouTube subscribers, Instagram likes, and Twitter followers.

On the surface, this looks harmless. After all, what’s wrong with a teacher being popular? But dig deeper, and you’ll see why this obsession with “star teachers” is bad for students, bad for education, and bad for the profession itself.

1. Stardom ≠ Substance

Social media rewards performance, not quality. A teacher who:

• Speaks like a motivational speaker
• Makes controversial statements for attention
• Uses clickbait, drama, or even vulgarity to go viral

…is far more likely to become a “star” than the teacher who quietly delivers consistent, effective lessons that truly help students.

But education is not entertainment. Judging teaching quality by likes and views is like judging a doctor by their Instagram followers. A teacher, like a doctor, is supposed to help people in serious, measurable ways.

2. Fan Culture Harms Students

Many students become fanboys/fangirls of their “favorite” star teachers. This leads to:

• Blind loyalty, even when the teaching is shallow or ineffective
• Dismissing other good teachers just because they’re less flashy
• Confusing charisma with competence

Instead of focusing on learning outcomes, students get caught up in teacher wars, cult-like followings, and emotional drama.

Education shouldn’t be about “Who’s your favorite teacher?” It should be about “What did you actually learn?”

3. It Hurts Good Teachers

When stardom becomes the benchmark, real teachers lose out.

• The ones who spend late nights refining lesson plans
• The ones who patiently explain concepts to struggling students
• The ones who don’t have time for flashy reels or self-promotion

They get overshadowed by influencers masquerading as teachers. Over time, this discourages true educators, devalues their effort, and makes teaching look like a popularity contest rather than a noble profession.

4. The Profession Loses Its Dignity

For centuries, teaching was considered a noble calling. Teachers were respected for their wisdom, guidance, and ability to shape futures.

When teaching turns into a race for likes, the dignity of the profession collapses. It becomes less about educating students and more about monetizing audiences. At that point, we no longer have teachers — we just have entertainers in disguise.

5. Students Deserve Better

The “star teacher” model is not sustainable. Students don’t need celebrities; they need mentors. They don’t need fan clubs; they need guides. They don’t need hype; they need results.

Edtech companies and coaching institutes must take responsibility here. Instead of creating artificial “stars” and pushing them like movie actors, we should:

• Highlight measurable learning outcomes
• Celebrate teams of teachers rather than single faces
• Encourage collaboration, not competition

Final Thought

Judging an exotic dancer by likes may be fine — that’s entertainment. But you cannot judge a doctor by their follower count. A teacher is closer to a doctor than to a dancer: both deal with futures, both deal with lives.

The sooner we move away from this shallow “star teacher” culture, the sooner we can bring teaching back to what it was always meant to be: a noble profession built on substance, not stardom.

At Redpapr, we believe the future of edtech isn’t about creating new “celebrity teachers.” It’s about building systems that make every good teacher more effective, and ensuring that students learn, grow, and succeed — no fan clubs required.