Vice President stresses on basic education in mother tongue; awards 45 teachers with National Award

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 5: Once again stressing on the need for school education in mother tongue, the Vice President has urged teachers to impart education in vernacular language for the better outcome. M. Venkaiah Naidu presenting the National Awards to Teachers on the occasion of Teachers Day recognised the role of teachers in nation-building said that it is because of teachers that India’s education system is moving steadily towards greater heights of excellence.

The Vice President presented Awards to 45 teachers selected from all over the country for their contribution towards education. He said that teachers are the key architects of national development and the basic education must be in the mother tongue.

Highlighting the importance given to teachers in other parts of the world, the Vice President said that the countries of the world had recognized India as a world teacher or Vishwa Guru. He further said that in many ways this stream of intellectual pursuits and knowledge creation has continued over the last two millennia. However, there are persistent challenges in providing good quality education for all children, youth and adults, he added.

The Vice President said that the societal mindset and attitude must change. He further said that we have to create an ethos that values learning, an ethos that gives respect to teachers. It has been said that “values are caught and that they can rarely be taught” which means the teachers must ensure through their behaviour, through their communication with students and in the way the classes are organised that values of equality, democracy, peace and working together become an integral part of the school ethos, he added.

India today is at an interesting point in its history. Over 65% of its population is under 35 years of age. Ours is a young India- an India that is dreaming of a new future. It’s an India that has more than a billion dreams. And those dreams can be realized only if we can educate and empower children and youth. The transition from dreams to achievement can be made only if we transform our society into a learning society and a knowledge economy. The key architects of this vital leap forward are the teachers.

If we have to transform our education system to a high performing one, the teachers must move on from being merely ‘teachers’ to become ‘instructional leaders’ and eventually don the mantle of the mentor, guide and facilitator- a role expected of a Guru.