It is tough, and idealism doe not thrive, its more often than not thrown out of the window. Teachers truly need to be better paid, else, how will we get quality in our education system?

It's a sobering question, Koshy, and one that I often tend to tie with the quality of our education system. I speak from the viewpoint of someone working with technology aspects of education (which includes technology teachers and tech. resource people for schools) - why would someone who is tech-savvy want to join a school when s/he could get much a higher paying job in the software industry? 

Motivation to perform (in this case, teach) well for most people is tied to returns. While the non-economic rewards of this noble profession are much touted, the reality is that as consumerism becomes the mantra of current Indian society, and cost of living well rises, teachers have no choice but to think more practically rather than altruistically.

This is one reason why I support teachers taking coaching classes on the side. Sounds blasphemous, but we must look for solutions in the context we are. Unscrupulous teachers intent on making money have coaching classes into a shady business - but if good teachers with idealism were to say - set up a coaching class where they charge a substantial amount to teach gifted/slow children who dont attend their school -- i suspect they would do a good job there and plus be less strained financially to handle their "day" jobs.

I understand that given the workloads, this might be be putting a heavy strain on the teacher. But clearly, things are not going to change anytime soon. Looking for reasonable compromises rather than sticking to idealism is needed.