The influence of teachers on the motivation of school students is the subject of deep analysis and study. The teacher plays the role of a friend, a teacher and guide to the students. This study was conducted among a random sample of 247 high school students who were administered a questionnaire. The influence of teachers on the motivation of students to give their best at school was noted, a principal component analysis extracted three components which were termed friend, teacher and mentor components. A subsequent principal component regression showed that two of the components that were extracted were significant predictors of student motivation while the third component was not a significant predictor of student motivation. It was seen that when teachers play the role of a friend and a teacher, they are significant motivators to students but as mentors they are not significant predictors of student motivation.