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The following is the text of the Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Arjun Singh’s speech on the occasion of the Teachers' Day at Vigyan Bhavan on 5th September, 2005.
"On behalf of the Ministry of HRD and my own behalf, I extend a very warm and cordial welcome to all of you and express my deep sense of gratitude to His Excellency, the President of India, for gracing the auspicious occasion of the Teachers' Day by his presence. By celebrating the Teachers' Day on the occasion of the birth anniversary of late Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, our former President, we pay tribute to a great teacher, philosopher and an outstanding scholar who devoted his entire life to the cause of education and nation building.
The scheme of honouring school teachers through the National Awards commenced in 1958-59. Under this scheme, the National Awards are given to those teachers who have made significant contribution for improvement of teaching-learning through innovations and experimentations for improvement of quality school education.
Our society has always had the tradition of respecting the teacher as 'guru' and 'acharya' [a person whose achaar or conduct is exemplary] and teachers were worshiped and honoured for their wisdom and scholarship. Teachers are expected not only to transmit knowledge but also to play a vital role in instilling moral and ethical values in children and set role models for pupils to follow. A good teacher is the one who inspires students to imbibe socially relevant values and attitudes and is expected to be not only a source of knowledge but also a seeker of knowledge. The teachers should, therefore, need to become life long learners.
The hallowed position of teachers notwithstanding, it is indeed unfortunate that there are some trends in our society which suggest that we are not able to attract the best talent to teaching profession. The increasing commercialisation in all walks of life have meant that the preferred career choices are those which bring in more money. In addition, because of lack of resources several State Governments have taken measures which cannot be considered contributory to attracting better talent to teaching. The institution of para teachers has emerged where teachers are grossly underpaid. In some places the teachers are appointed on contract. Even at the higher education stage, we find that in some States teachers are appointed on contract or paid a couple of hundred rupees per lecture that they are giving. These are disturbing trends and we must respond in a manner so that such practices do not get encouragement. Teachers deserve to get the best and the Government systems are the trend setters in this. In the next few years our efforts would be to see to it that partially-paid or contractual teachers are replaced by regular teachers with regular salaries and regular careers.
The Government have given a new priority attention to several educational sector issues. These relate to increasing access, improvement in the quality of teaching and learning and strengthening the autonomy of institutions particularly at the higher level. The National Common Minimum Programme has reiterated the commitment of making 6% of GDP available to education. If we are able to achieve this goal, it should be possible for us to meet substantially the expectations from us.
Our concerted efforts towards Universalisation of Elementary Education [UEE] have resulted in a large increase in educational institutions, teachers and students. The country is committed to Universalisation of Elementary Education in terms of access, participation, equity and quality utilizing both formal and alternative channels. A non-lapsable fund called “Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh” has been created for funding this programme. Special efforts will be made to provide quality elementary education to girls, children belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other backward communities and children with disabilities and belonging to Minorities. The entire amount collected as Cess will be earmarked for education including SSA and for effective implementation of the mid-day meal programme.
The Mid-Day Meal Scheme for School Children has made a promising start throughout the country. Approximately, 11 crore children are covered under the scheme. Further, the government has set up the National Commission for minority educational institutions. The measures are being taken to improve the representation of minorities in both government schools and minority-run educational institutions.
The National Policy on Education 1986 with 1992 modifications categorically recommended the need for revision of school curriculum every five years. We firmly believe in social cohesion and the need to protect the secular nature of our pluralistic society. We have already initiated the process of curriculum revision as visualized by the NPE 1986. The NCERT has taken up the revision of the National Curriculum Framework which will be finalized soon.
My teacher friends, you have played a significant role in bringing education to its present heights. We appreciate the dedication, professional competence and services rendered by you all for the cause of building the future of our nation. The 'National Award' is a token of recognition for your dedication and service towards education. We expect you to play the leadership role in striving towards quality education for all children.
I feel highly honoured to convey my sincere thanks to Hon'ble President of India for gracing this occasion and giving us a very inspiring and thought provoking address.
Once again, I congratulate and thank you all."
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SPS/VKS/NC
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