The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu
has said that we need teachers who have the required competence, confidence and
commitment to make a difference to the educational landscape of our country. He
was addressing the gathering after giving away the National Award to Teachers –
2016, here today. The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Shri
Prakash Javadekar, the Ministers of State for Human Resource Development, Shri
Upendra Kushwaha, Dr. Satya Pal Singh, the Secretary, Department of School
Education & Literacy, Shri Anil Swarup and other dignitaries were present
on the occasion.
The Vice President said that today, on Teachers’
Day, we reverentially remember first Vice President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
a great teacher, an intellectual giant and an eloquent exponent of Hindu
thought, on his birth anniversary. He congratulated all teachers who were
receiving National Award to Teachers – 2016. He further said that he appreciate
the work of numerous unsung heroes in classrooms of our country. The ‘real
education’ to foster all round development of students is what should aim for
and there should be holistic development of students with equal eMphasis on
academic excellence and skills for self-employment or gainful employment, he
added.
The Vice President said that the teachers, are the ‘Bharata
Bhagya Vidhatas’ (shapers of India’s development) and they are dedicating
their time and energy to shape individuals for creating New India. He further
said that the teachers have a formidable responsibility for India to achieve
100 per cent literacy in next five years. India was once known as “Vishwa Guru”
with people from across the globe flocking to our ancient seats of learning
like Nalanda and Takshashila, he added.
The Vice President said that India’s value system,
culture and heritage should be accorded due importance in the syllabus. Today
all teachers must pledge to transform classrooms into hubs of joyful learning
and raise the education system to a much higher level, he advised.
Following is the text of Vice
President’s address:
“I
am delighted to be present amongst you today on the occasion of Teachers’ Day,
a day when the nation celebrates the extraordinary contribution teachers are
making to national development, a day when we reverentially remember on his
birth anniversary, the first Vice President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan, a great teacher, an intellectual giant and an eloquent exponent
of Hindu philosophy.
I am extremely
delighted to share with you some thoughts against the backdrop of the cultural
and educational heritage of our ancient land.
Indian education
development is intertwined with the freedom movement and reflects the deep
commitment of our founding fathers to providing universal access to good
quality education. To name only a few, Gandhiji, Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak,
Dr B.R.Amebdkar, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Dr. Zakir Husain have clearly
emphasised education as the most crucial foundation for national development.
In fact, today is a day
to recall with pride the rich cultural and intellectual heritage we have
collectively inherited. Ours is a country that has given a central place to
teachers and given them the appellation of ‘gurus’, a Sanskrit word that
connotes ‘a source of illumination’. In fact, the respect and
veneration a teacher receives in our culture is well depicted in the lines:
“Gurur Brahmaa, Gurur
Vishnuh, Gurur Devo Maheshwarah Guru Saakshaat Parabrahma Tasmai Shri Gurave
Namah— ‘Guru is like Brahma the Creator initiating us into learning, Vishnu
the Preserver nurturing our talents and Maheshwara the Destroyer dispelling
doubts and negative thoughts. Guru is the Supreme God and my salutation to
such a Guru’.
We are the inheritors
of the system of gurukulas where the teachers and the students lived together
and pursued studies in a caring environment, the system of educational inquiry
that was based on a constant dialogue between the teacher and students and the
concept of ‘Vidya’ as a process of discovery.
You are all blessed to
have the unique opportunity to shape the destiny of our nation in your
classrooms every day and every minute through your interaction with students.
Through your knowledge, skills and attitude, you are determining the course of
India’s future.
It is an onerous task.
It is a challenging task. And when it is well done, it is the most satisfying
task. You, teachers, are all, in my view, the ‘Bharata Bhagya Vidhatas’(shapers
of India’s development) who are tirelessly dedicating their time and energy to
shape individuals who will in turn be creating the New India we are all
dreaming of. Shaping the character of the young and impressionable minds
through your words and deeds should be accorded the highest priority by the
teaching community. “Literary education is of no value, if it is not able to
build up a sound character”, said Mahatma Gandhi.
We, in India, have come
a long way after we made the tryst with destiny to end poverty, ignorance,
disease and inequality of opportunity. Today, 95 percent of children are in
schools and we have more universities and institutions of excellence than we
had in 1947.
Nearly 70 lakh teachers
are teaching 20 crore children in 15 lakh elementary schools across the
country. The literacy rate has been steadily improving from a mere 18 percent
in 1947 to nearly 80 percent at present.
The foreign rulers
never bothered to teach us, educate us, because they are not interested in the
future of our country. The literacy rate is now steadily improving, and it
should improve further. I hope that government will take all necessary steps
that no children is out of school, that should be mission of the government,
that should be the duty of all the people. This is not only the duty of teacher
alone. It is the duty of all enlightened citizens, the parents, the public
representatives and everybody should get involved into this and see to it that
we achieve 100 per cent literacy.
It is needless to say
that teachers have a formidable responsibility if India has to achieve 100 per
cent literacy over the next five years.
But there is still a
long way to go and it should be a matter of concern that the learning outcomes
of students have shown an overall decline in the recent years as reflected in
the National Achievement Surveys. The academic standards in institutions of
higher learning by and large need considerably improvement.
One of the most
important issues facing school education today is the need to improve quality
in education and learning. It is admirable that enormous strides towards
establishing schools within the reach of every habitation have been achieved.
The Right to Education
Act has strengthened the resolve and lent a supporting hand to the continuous
efforts of bringing each and every child to school. However, children who have
dropped out of school need special attention and careful planning to bring them
back to school and here, teachers need to be sensitive to their needs. But the
onus of bringing children to school lies not just on teachers but collectively
with the community and parents also who should work actively with schools.
Today, we felicitate
teachers for their contribution towards education and their achievements by
honouring them with the national awards in recognition of their commendable and
exceptional contribution to the noble cause of teaching. I am sure there are
many more teachers who are not here but have been doing excellent work.
I congratulate all of
you who are receiving the awards today and I also sincerely appreciate the work
of numerous unsung heroes in the classrooms of our country.
Today, I read an
article written by a serving IPS Officer from Talangana, Dr. P.S. Praveen
Kumar, and he writes that ‘we live because of teachers’, and further says ‘good
teachers are now an endangered species’. Honestly, whatever I am today because
of teachers. They way I speak, read, dress and work are deeply influenced by my
teachers, Mr. Praveen Kumar wrote. In all the skills they have taught have
helped me to navigate, to preach the values of life. Great teachers live
through us, beyond us, and we live because of them. They are immortal, he said.
People should be
judged, should be selected, should be elected, should be elected on the basis
of character, calibre, capacity and conduct, discipline, dynamism, dedication,
devotion.
As per a 1996 Report to
UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first
century, there are four pillars of learning:
Learning to know:
to provide the cognitive tools required to better comprehend the world
Learning to do:
to provide the skills that would enable individuals to effectively participate
in the Global Economy and society.
Learning to be:
to provide self analytical and social skills to enable individuals to develop
to their fullest potential for a all-round complete person.
Learning to live
together: to expose individuals to the values implicit within
human rights, democratic principles, intercultural understanding and respect
and Peace at all levels of society and human relationships to enable
individuals and societies to live in peace and harmony.
Today, the entire world
is facing the problem of terrorism. Terrorism of the enemy of the nation. We
must teach our children from the beginning. Terrorism of any kind, it has no
religion, it has no region, it is a menace to the humanity. And all our minds
should be developed in such a way they should be put down with an iron hand.
All countries are now realizing the difficulty. BRICS leaders have collectively
condemned the terrorism.
We must also make the
children to understand and behave that they are all one. Irrespective of caste,
creed, sex, religion and region, India is one. One nation, one country, one
people. You may be having different languages. You may be speaking different
languages. You may dress differently, belief in different religions; religion
is a way of worship. We need not bother about it, it is left to the
individuals. What we need to focus is on culture. Culture is a way of life. We
must focus on teaching the mother tongue.
Many successful
teachers, of which you are shining examples, have transformed schools into
places of joyful learning through their knowledge, skills and attitudes.
Dr. Radhakrishnan had
said: “Teachers should be the best minds in the country”. Good teachers are
good learners. They keep learning new things all the time and acquiring
knowledge from different sources.
In addition to sound
knowledge, teachers should have the skills to communicate that
knowledge effectively to the students. They should have the ability to
stimulate the curiosity, open up opportunities for dialogue in the classrooms
and encourage the children to discover, think and express. They should
creatively link classroom learning with the learners’ lives. In recent times,
technology has become inexpensive and all pervasive.
It is heartening to
note that 44 percent of rural secondary schools in India have computers.
Technology can be a very powerful tool for assisting the teachers. Many
teachers are using these tools effectively. Some of them are creating ‘Apps’ as
well. We must encourage these Innovations that enrich the learning process.
Excellent teachers who
leave an indelible impression on the students have been the role models
exemplifying through their attitudes and behaviour, the values and
behaviour they wish to impart in the children.
It is said that values
are caught. They cannot be taught. Ideal behaviour is important than ideology.
Children learn to be kind, compassionate if the teachers are kind and
compassionate. The students will learn the value of patience, tolerance and
democratic functioning in a class where the teacher embodies these values and
where her/his actions in the classroom reflect these values.
The teachers have to
hone their skills to develop among children critical, creative, and reflective
and problem solving abilities. In fact, this is the most crucial aspect of a
teacher’s work.
As has been said:
“The
mediocre teacher tells;
The
good teacher explains;
The
superior teacher demonstrates;
The
great teacher inspires.”
What we need today are
more and more great teachers. We need inspirational, transformational leaders
in our classrooms.
It is not merely the
grand building that makes a school good but the dedication and commitment of
teachers that makes it great.
In this context, I
would like to recall the words of Swami Vivekananda, who said ‘If you are not
pure and you know all the sciences of the world. That will not help you at all,
you may be buried in all books you read, but that will not be of much use. It
is the heart that reaches the goal. Follow the heart. A pure heart sees beyond
the intellect, it gets inspired”. The teacher who loves the children from
her/his heart is the real nation builder, who can lay the solid foundation of a
nation committed to growth and development.
We need more child-friendly
schools with caring, inspired and inspiring teachers.
Good quality
pre-primary education and elementary education are the essential building
blocks for building a developed India. In a country with such a high commitment
to knowledge and education, we cannot allow poor quality education to persist.
As Sri MC Chagla, the then Education Minister of India said in 1964: “Our
Constitution fathers did not intend that we just set up hovels, put students
there, give untrained teachers, give them bad textbooks, no playgrounds, and
say, we have complied with Article 45 and primary education is expanding…
They meant that real education should be given to our children between the ages
of 6 and 14”.
The ‘real education’ to
foster all round development of students is what should aim for. There should
be holistic development of students with equal emphasis on academic excellence
and skills for self-employment or gainful employment.
India’s value system,
culture and heritage should be accorded due importance in the syllabus. Also
physical training, crafts, sports, NCC training, music and even subjects like
gardening should be part of the curricula for a well-rounded development of the
student. Health of the students is very important. A healthy nation can become
a wealthy nation, but a wealthy nation may not become a healthy nation.
India was once known as
“Vishwa Guru” with all those seeking knowledge from across the globe flocking
to our ancient seats of learning like Nalanda and Takshashila Universities and
scholars like Friedrich Max Müller admiring it in the following words:
“If I were asked under
what sky the human mind has most full developed some of its choicest gifts, has
most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions
of some of them which well deserve the attention even of those who have studied
Plato and Kant—I should point to India.”
However, following
various invasions and colonisation, India lost its pre-eminent position. Now
the time has come for India to regain its position as a “Vishwa Guru”, the
centre of educational excellence. This can happen if we can create and
strengthen our own system by drawing inspiration from the best examples from
around the world like the ancient sages had suggested: “Aano Bhadrah Kratavo
Yantu Vishvathah” meaning “Let noble thoughts come to us from all over the
world”.
The teachers must take
this as a sacred mission, a mission that aims to see that all children acquire
the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are required for a twenty-first
century citizen.
We need more teachers
who can build in our children a commitment to the values of democracy,
equality, freedom, justice, secularism, concern for others well being, respect
for human dignity and human rights. Children should be made aware of our rich
heritage and the glorious history.
I congratulate all the
awardees, whose commendable professional dedication has been recognised through
this award.
I call upon all
teachers at all levels in the country, in the pre-primary centres, elementary
schools, high schools, colleges and universities to rededicate themselves and
pledge that they will transform the classrooms into hubs of joyful learning and
raise the entire education system to a much higher level than what exists
today.
I am sure the
Government will ensure that the education system is considerably strengthened
in terms of Infrastructure and a congenial work environment where quality of
learning becomes central.
I hope there will be a
new impetus to make human development, quality education and lifelong learning
as cornerstones in the development architecture of a new India.
We cannot rest on the
past laurels. Nor can we be satisfied with a few islands of excellence. We need
a system that responds effectively to the learning needs of all children, youth
and adults and keeps constantly innovating.
We need teachers who
have the required competence, confidence and commitment to
make a difference to the educational landscape of our country. They must work
in collaboration with the community members and parents to enrol all children
in each habitation like teachers have been doing in some states like Gujarat,
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The entire educational
system including the teachers should internalize the message of ‘Reform,
Perform and Transform’ for India to once again become the knowledge hub of the
world.
My greetings once again
to all teachers across the country on this auspicious occasion and best wishes
for a long exciting voyage of promoting learning in the years to come.
Jai
Hind”
***
KSD/BK
