New Delhi: India is moving in the right direction of strengthening its education ecosystem and the NEP is being appreciated around the globe with teachers having played a big role in formulating it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday.
He also said that India surpassing the UK to become the world’s fifth largest economy is special because the country has left behind those who ruled it for 250 years.
Interacting with National Teacher Award recipients, Modi said teachers not only have to educate students but also transform their lives.
“Our new National Education Policy (NEP) is being applauded throughout the world. People can see how India is moving in the right direction to strengthen its education ecosystem.
“Our teachers have played a very important role in formulating the policy. It is up to our teachers to prepare our youth, who will decide what India would look like in ‘Amrit Kaal’ by 2047,” he said.
The prime minister also said, “We not only have to educate students but transform their lives, and that cannot be done by working in silos. A successful teacher is one for whom every student is equal and there are no likes or dislikes. For teachers, an integrated approach is a must.”
Emphasising the need to go through the National Educational Policy more than once, the prime minister gave the analogy of Mahatma Gandhi reading the Bhagavad Gita repeatedly, each time finding a new meaning.
Modi stressed the need to imbibe the NEP in such a way that this government document turns into the basis of the students’ lives.
“Teachers played a major role in the formulation of the National Educational Policy and have a monumental role to play in its implementation,” he said.
Earlier in the day, President DroupadiMurmu presented National Teacher Awards to teachers to honour their unique contribution to school education.
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has been organising a function at Vigyan Bhawan here every year on Teachers’ Day on September 5 to confer the awards to the best teachers of the country who are selected through a three-stage rigorous online process.
The prime minister highlighted the knowledge and dedication of teachers and pointed out that their biggest quality is a positive outlook that enables them to work with students relentlessly for their improvement.
“The role of a teacher is to show the light to a person. They sow the dreams and teach them to turn the dreams into resolve,” he said, adding the state and destiny of the India of 2047 are dependent on the students of today and their future is being shaped by the teachers.
“You are helping the students in shaping their lives and also giving form to the contours of the country,” Modi said.
The prime minister said when a teacher becomes associated with the dreams of the student, he achieves success in getting their respect and affection.
He also underlined the importance of removing conflict and contradictions in the various areas of the lives of students.
“It is important that there is no conflict in what a student experiences in school, society and at home. There is a need for an integrated approach by the teachers and partners with the families of the students to nurture the students,” he said.
The prime minister recalled his Independence Day proclamation of ‘PanchPran’ and suggested that these may be discussed regularly in the schools so that their spirit is clear to the students.
“These resolutions are being appreciated as a way for the progress of the nation and we need to find a way to communicate them to the children and students. There should be no student in the entire country who does not have a dream for 2047. There is a need to recreate the spirit that engulfed the nation during the years between Dandi Yatra and Quit India,” he added.
Lauding India’s achievement of surpassing the United Kingdom to become the 5th largest economy in the world, Modi said the pleasure of surpassing those who ruled over India for approximately 250 years supersedes the mere statistics of improved ranking from sixth largest to fifth largest economy.
“The spirit of the Tiranga which led to India achieving new heights in the world of today is essential. I urge everyone to ignite the same spirit of living, toiling and dying for the country as seen from 1930 to 1942 when every Indian was fighting the British for independence. I will not let my country stay behind,” he said.
“We have broken the shackles of thousands of years of slavery, and we will not stop now. We will only move forward,” Modi added.
