PRESIDENT ASKS POLICY MAKERS TO
ENSURE DUE RESPECT AND IMPORTANCE TO TEACHERS
NATIONAL
AWARDS PRESENTED TO 282 TEACHERS Ladies and Gentlemen: FIVE
LAKH TEACHING POSTS CREATED IN 1-1/2 YEARS
President Dr. A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam today asked policy makers to ensure that teachers
are given the importance and respect they deserve. He was addressing
teachers who had gathered here from different parts of the country
to receive the National Award for the year 2002 from him.
Dr. Kalam brought
out how the destiny of the nation depends on teachers. A student,
he said, spends over 20,000 hours in school till he completes
the 12th class and during this long period he absorbs
the qualities of his teachers by observing their conduct. Considering
that there are 20 crore children in Indian schools today who will
become the backbone of the country’s economy and society, one
can see the enormity of the responsibility of the teacher in imparting
values and knowledge to the future generation.
The President exhorted
the awardees to spread their excellence to their schools and their
surroundings so that others could emulate them.
Human Resource Development
Minister Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi informed the gathering that nearly
five lakh teaching posts have been created in the last one and
half years - as many as could be created in the previous ten years.
Besides, teacher education and training have been greatly expanded
in recent years for rapid technical upgradation of the teaching
manpower.
Dr. Joshi also informed
that in a recent survey, teachers have come out as role models
of the majority of students while in earlier surveys parents came
out as the majority’s role models. This, he said, showed that
the Indian society and students keep teachers in very high esteem.
This puts additional responsibility on teachers’ shoulders as
they have to live up to the expectations of their students and
be a link between the family and the pupils.
Dr. Joshi said that
besides health and nutrition of children, education is an essential
key to rapid economic development of the country.
Dr. Joshi also underlined
the need to inculcate values in children and added that in view
of the impact of globalisation on traditional wisdom and values,
care must be taken that values should be the ones that are rooted
in the Indian culture and not those imported from outside.
In his welcome address,
Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Dr. Vallabhbhai
Kathiria said that the vision to make India a developed country
by 2020 can be realised only through high quality of education.
Teachers have the responsibilities, Dr. Kathiria said, to not
only spread knowledge but also impart spirituality and scientific
outlook which are essential for a nation to grow.
Secretary, Secondary
and Higher Education, Shri S.K. Tripathi expressed the hope that
awardees would enthuse other teachers to excel in teaching, like
them.
The awards were given
away by the President to 282 teachers from primary to senior secondary
levels from various States and Union Territories. Sixteen teachers
were given awards from Andhra Pradesh, 2 from Arunachal Pradesh,
5 from Assam, 8 from Bihar, 6 from Chhattisgarh, 2 from Goa, 14
from Gujarat, 7 from Haryana, 4 from Himachal Pradesh, 13 from
Karnataka, 16 from Kerala, 12 from Madhya Pradesh, 29 from Maharashtra,
2 each from Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland 10 from Orissa,
4 from Punjab, 13 from Rajasthan, 2 from Sikkim, 22 from Tamil
Nadu, 2 from Tripura, 27 from Uttar Pradesh, 4 from Uttaranchal,
12 from West Bengal, 2 from A&N Islands, 1 from Dadra &
Nagar Haveli, 4 from Delhi, and 2 each from Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep
and Pondicherry. Teachers from examination boards and the National
School for Open Schooling have been given awards this year in
addition to regular schools.
The National Award
carries Rs. 25,000 in cash, a silver medallion and a merit certificate.
