Address by Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil President of India on the Occasion of the Presentation of National Awards to Teachers

Shri M.A.A. Fatmi, Minister of State of Human Resource Development,

Smt. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State of Human Resource Development,

Dear Teachers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all I would like to congratulate the teachers from different parts of the country who have received the National Awards for their meritorious work in the field of education.

On 5th September, we celebrate Teachers' Day throughout India, to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Radhakrishnan a great intellectual, a profound philosopher, a statesman and an educationalist of exceptional stature. Teachers' Day, thus, is an occasion to pay homage to Dr. Radhakrishnan and to the contributions he made to the cause of education. It is also a day to recall the dedicated service of the countless teachers of our nation, who are engaged in imparting education to our children and preparing them for responsibilities in life.

Our society has always attached the highest value to learning, scholarship and knowledge. Teachers have traditionally been venerated in our society because of their vital role in imparting knowledge and instilling moral and ethical values in children. We have had a long tradition of education through the Guru-Shishya parampara. Students lived in the ashram of the teacher who brought them up with love and care, giving to them everyday, not only lessons of knowledge, but teaching them through their own example, how to live with dignity and courage. Dnyaneshwara, the great saint of Maharashtra described education as  that is knowledge is poured from one heart to the other. Teachers are role models for students and therefore, their own conduct sets example for the young. If teachers practice discipline, honesty and punctuality in their lives, children would also practice these virtues. Mahatma Gandhi had said, I quote, "I have found that children imbibe more from the teachers' own lives than they do from books they read to them or the lectures that they deliver to them."

In today's fast changing society, teachers have greater duties to perform. Students, even young primary school students, know a lot through television, internet, etc. In this environment, teachers need to keep themselves up-to-date with new knowledge and interpret the vast information that is available to the students so that they understand right from the wrong, truth from untruth and correct from the incorrect.

Teachers have to give children the finest education because if they do not give them good education, children will not be able to make tomorrow's India excellent. If children learn only to cram from books, then too, they will not be able to face tomorrow. Children need to think critically, design actively and reflect. As they grow, they should be innovative, creative and contribute to the nation. They should, in accordance with India's long record and tradition, become the greatest of scientists, mathematicians, engineers, philosophers, thinkers, economists, entrepreneurs, doctors and legal experts. As their students excel, teachers should be proud of them, evoking the sentiment in their hearts,� that is, let your student be victorious, let him surpass you.

In this context, I would like to mention the approach in the National Curriculum Framework developed by NCERT in 2005, which emphasizes that children should be helped to construct their knowledge, with the teacher only being a facilitator. There is a need to develop a number of exhibits with the help of which the teacher could promote the spirit of exploration, investigation and enquiry. Equally, there is a need to develop hands-on activities using local, inexpensive materials to investigate problems of science, mathematics and technology relevant in the local development context.

The education system needs to strengthen the values of secularism, democracy, inclusiveness and pluralism. These are the great values enshrined in our Constitution and traditionally developed by our civilization. These values give strength and sustenance not only to our diverse multi-cultural society but also to our country.

In my very first speech on 25th July 2007, I had mentioned my deep commitment to the cause of education and my desire to see every person, man and woman, boy and girl, touched by the light of modern education. I am, therefore, encouraged by the commitment to provide elementary education to all under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Our concerted efforts towards universal elementary education have resulted in a manifold increase in educational institutions, teachers and students. The role of teachers in giving quality education to each and every child who enters formal and alternative learning centers is crucial. We recognize the importance of professional competence, commitment and dedication of teachers in making the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a success. However, there are many impediments in the way of universalization of elementary education. Unfortunately, all children in the age group of 5 to 14 years cannot go to school, mainly due to poverty, distant location of schools etc. There are also disadvantaged schools without the requisite number of teachers or the requisite number of rooms, equipments and learning materials. We need to make continuous efforts to address these challenges. Moreover, school dropout rates are high. Teachers should adopt innovative teaching methods to make studying in schools interesting and sustain the interest of children so as to reduce dropout rates from school and to achieve the goal of universal elementary education.

Teachers need to upgrade their knowledge, skills and competencies through professional preparation. Teacher training programmes need to reflect critically the multiple contexts in which schools function and come out with specific solutions relevant to teaching in schools located in urban areas, rural areas, tribal areas and located in disadvantaged regions. The models of pre-service and in-service teacher preparation require critical review. In pre-service teacher education programmes, there is a need for integration between, theory and practices and between subject content and pedagogy.

I feel deeply for those unfortunate children who are working in fields, factories, shops, streets etc. to earn their livelihood or to support their families. The country is determined to wipe out the curse of child labour. Only laws are not adequate to solve the problem. There is a need to analyse the reasons responsible for child labour and to solve them. One of the reasons could be that school education is not relevant to the needs of these children. They may require self-development strategies, ability to cope with constraints and vocational skills. I am sure that resourceful and innovative teachers like you can do something worthwhile to make the school curriculum more relevant for these children and to inculcate life skills along with school skills. It is also necessary to prepare children to fight social evils like child marriage, gender inequality, addiction and other social stigmas.

A large number of students will not continue education beyond the elementary and secondary stages and will enter into the work force. Simultaneously, a large number of students after completion of plus two level education may not be able to enter into professional courses and will not find general education employment oriented. In spite of the need, students are not interested in plus two level vocational courses due to lack of relevance, employability and social acceptance. There is a need to develop vocational skills relevant to the needs of the rural sectors such as agriculture, horticulture and small-scale industries particularly located in the unorganized sector. The majority of our people earn their livelihood from agriculture. Vocational education needs to be revamped so that it could address the challenges that agriculture faces as also the distressful situation faced by farmers in many areas. The unemployment of vocational school leavers reflects the inadequate quality of vocational education and also vocational teacher preparation. The causes of decline in the number of students in the senior secondary vocational education stream need to be investigated. There is need to develop entrepreneurship and self-employment skills in students.

I take this opportunity to emphasize the importance of the role of women in promoting our education objectives. The 2007 Education for All Report published by UNESCO, made a very perceptive observation that a child whose mother had no education is twice as likely to be out of school as one whose mother has had some education. For a stronger future of India, the need for girl child education is clearly very important. I would urge that programmes for girl child education be strengthened, including imparting physical education to girl students so that when girls leave school they are strong physically and mentally and capable of protecting themselves.

I would like to conclude by calling on all teachers to work with dedication, as each one of you have the capacity to shape the future of the country. On part of children, parents and indeed, all of us, I would like to emphasise the need to respect our teachers and treat them with utmost dignity and honour.

Our country is honouring some of our outstanding teachers today. I join the nation in congratulating them and wishing them the very best.

JAI HIND !