PhD Holder Cab Driver: This story may sound like a sentimental script of a movie, but it is a bitter and shocking reality of our country's education system which cannot be ignored. Can you imagine a person who has a PhD in English Literature, has multiple post-graduation degrees, and teaches in one of the most prestigious colleges of the state, driving a cab on the streets to feed his family? Yes, this is the story of Dr. E. Tirumalai Raja of Tamil Nadu, whose struggle has gone viral on social media today and is forcing every sensitive citizen to think.
A post that went viral on social media platform The post claims that Dr. E. Tirumalai Raja, who is a PhD holder in English Literature, is today forced to work as a cab driver to support his family. The post was shared by After the post went viral, thousands of people reacted to the issue and raised questions on the status of contract teachers in India.
The academic journey of Dr. E. Tirumalai Raja is so brilliant that the CV of any big university pales in comparison to his. The list of his educational qualifications is as follows:
Apart from this, he is also a skilled motivational speaker, exam cell coordinator, editor and an excellent trainer of communication skills. But ironically, when they take a cab on the streets of Chennai, the passengers never realize that the person sitting in the driver's seat is actually a vast ocean of knowledge.
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The topic of Dr. Raja's doctoral research was very interesting - "Black Humor in Indo-Anglian Writing". Who knew that the real life of this scholar who researched irony and black humor in literature would become such a cruel joke. He has read research papers in national and international seminars, worked as a paper setter for universities, and has many articles published in UGC listed journals. But this high level of academic ability was valued very low by the system.
Currently, Dr. Raja is teaching as a contract lecturer in the famous Presidency College, Chennai, where he gets only Rs 30,000 per month. Before this he was an Assistant Professor in Namakkal, where his salary was even less – only Rs 20,000. In this era of inflation, it is completely impossible to support oneself in the metropolis with such a nominal amount and meet the needs of one's family (wife and two school going children) living in Namakkal. This is the reason why he picks up chalk in college during the day and in his free time does the duty of a call taxi driver, holding the steering wheel in his hands.
X user Anant Roopnagudi did the work of bringing this invisible struggle of Dr. Raja to the world. Sharing Dr. Raja's story and his incredible CV, he appealed to the academic community to help this deserving teacher get a respectable and permanent job. “This is not just the story of Dr. Tirumalai Raja, but the collective story of thousands of ad-hoc, guest and contract teachers in India who shape the future of the country, but are themselves forced to live in obscurity.” This viral post points towards the exploitation of contract teachers in the Indian education system and the serious economic challenges they face. The question remains the same even today - will the ultimate destiny of degrees remain to be the steering wheel of a cab, or will this qualified teacher get his rightful due?
