Formators vs Teachers?

There's something that I wanted to pen before it escapes my mind.  During the SAFC meeting in Goa, Fr Rayanna made an intervention which I initially found absurd.  However, the second time round when he put forward the same point, I found myself thinking ... thinking hard.  His point was that there is a big difference between teachers and formators.  Now this is something totally unheard of in my Salesian context, I've never come across this at all.  But the point that he was making was this: In our formation settings, there is absolutely no distinction between the two.  So as formators we end up taking classes, following up their academic progress and everything else too.  Other places there are teachers and professors who teach and formation guides who follow up.  Given the dearth of personnel, we don't have this option.

Fr Rayanna's point was if this was an option there would have been a greater chance that we could fulfill all the academic demands of Vatican and what not while investing ourselves fully into the formative process too. I do see a point in what he was expressing, perhaps because I've been through what he is presently undergoing by way of dearth of personnel.  However, I'm still not convinced if that divide is essential or even possible?  I'll need to get my head around that a bit...