At a time when the International Labour Organisation?s latest report on employment is predicting more than 50 million jobs losses around the world, IT professionals are seeking refuge in the noble and stable profession of teaching.

Over the past six months, premier schools and professional colleges have received an unusual number of applications from mid to senior level managers from the IT sector, all looking to carve a niche for themselves in the hitherto ignored field of education. A top level administrator of a Bangalore-based group of premier schools says that since the late 2008, resumes have been pouring in from professionals working for companies such as Infosys and Mindtree, holding degrees and specialisations in engineering, computer science and computer languages.

She says, many IT professionals, drawing average salaries of Rs 12-Rs 16 lakh per month, are ready to consider jobs that pay up to four times less. ?I have interviewed people who say they feel teaching is the most noble of professions, or that they have always dreamt being a teacher. However the timing of the economic gloom and the sudden awakening of so many of them to their true calling is too good to be a coincidence.?

According to her, while most apply to teach computer sciences in higher classes, some are prepared to teach in lower and middle school. BS Murthy, chief executive officer of consulting firm Leadership Capital, who has witnessed this phenomenon across the country, says, ?Some even say they want to give back to the community what they have taken all these years.?

Recruitment portals too, have witnessed a rise in IT applicants seeking teaching jobs. Pankaj Gupta, director of Itellectual Resource Training Pvt Ltd, which runs a recruitment portal dedicated to education called recruitguru.com, says that it has been receiving applications from mid to senior level IT professionals for the past two to three months.

He says, ?These are people who are not ruling out any opportunities and are looking at education due to the low volatility in this field.? According to him, recruitguru receives up to 10 profiles a day from such job seekers.

Gujrat-based group of schools The Galaxy Education System (TGES), that have placed a recruitment advertisement for ?recession hit professionals looking for a recession proof job? among other candidates, views the downturn as a unique opportunity to attract into education talented individuals who had previously gone into professions with better financial and social prospects.

Kiran Bhalodia, director, TGES, says, ?We have met people who say that they want to get away from the madness of these high growth jobs. They are highly paid individuals, who say that they have earned and saved enough and are now just looking for some stability and better quality of life.?

He adds, ?The slowdown is finally giving them the time to take a good look and decide what they want their lives to shape out like.?