Loose Women’s Saira Khan slammed for branding teachers ‘uninspiring’ in rant

Saira Khan has faced a vicious backlash after she branded teachers “uninspiring” during a rant on Loose Women.

The 50-year-old panelist said that she had not met a teacher who was “passionate” about their work and said that she had no inspiration to achieve from her teachers when she was at school.

With children heading back to classrooms across the country, Saira accused teachers of choosing the profession as a lifestyle choice rather than as a role in which they can inspire the next generation.

The ITV lunchtime panel show was discussing “the importance of inspiring teachers” when Saira shared her thoughts on teachers, which infuriated viewers at home.

Saira said: “I had nice teachers but I don’t think there was a single teacher who inspired me to believe in myself. I felt that I was average my whole school life.

“I don’t think I ever came across a teacher who had the passion to turn children’s lives around.”

Saira went on to add that there were no “born” leaders in the classroom and that is why she feels so strongly about what is not being provided by the teaching profession.

She continued: “I do feel if you really want to change a child’s life you’ve got to want to be a teacher from the moment you were born and unfortunately many have entered it because it’s a lifestyle choice and it’s convenient to do that profession while they raise kids.”

The outspoken panelist called for “bad apples” among teachers to be “rooted out” to give children a chance during their school years.

Saira was labelled “insensitive” and “rude” by incensed viewers who shared their upset on social media.

One outraged viewer tweeted: “Absolutely disgusted with Saira and her attitude towards teachers and the profession. No wonder we have such a tough time with opinions like that. #rude#insensitive.”

Another asked where the attitude of being kind had gone, tweeeting: “What happened to #bekind ? How awful to use her platform to criticise teachers and make such outrageous claims about why teachers choose their profession. Absolute nonsense!”

Saira was in no mood to be undermined on Loose Women and there was some debate as she ‘talked over’ her fellow panelists Jane Moore and Kaye Adams, as they looked to defend teachers.

Saira continued: “I think the system has got to change … but there are some, I’m sorry to say, bad teachers who are not doing our kids favours and we’ve got to do something about that.

“And that’s not because of a bad system that’s because they didn’t want to be a teacher in the first place.”

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