Voices of the Voiceless

Voices of the Voiceless by K.P. Shaji is a deeply personal and courageous exposé on the hidden truths of India’s self-financed English medium school system. Drawing from over 35 years of experience as a teacher, principal, and educational leader, the author sheds light on how a noble mission of shaping young minds has been quietly replaced by a profit-driven model that prioritizes branding over values, and visibility over genuine learning. The book is not an academic theory but a collection of lived experiences, real stories, and unspoken struggles of students, parents, and teachers. It reveals how commercialization has turned schools into showrooms, students into customers, and education into a product, while leaving teachers overworked, parents financially strained, and children burdened by pressure. Through vivid narratives, it explores systemic issues such as hidden admission costs, excessive focus on appearances, performance over learning, exploitation of teachers, and the erosion of moral values in schooling. Structured across sixteen chapters, the book moves from diagnosis to hope, offering practical reforms to humanize education, restore dignity to the teaching profession, and put the soul back into schooling.