Address of
Shri. Kapil Sibal
Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development
“National Awards to Teachers, 2008 Function”
Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi
at
11:40 am
on
5th September, 2009
Your Excellency the Vice President of India, Shri Mohammad Hamid
Ansari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Smt D.
Purandeswari, Secretary (School Education & Literacy), Smt. Anju Vaish,
Secretary (Higher Education), Shri R. P. Agrawal, our distinguished
National Awardees & members of the teaching fraternity, my friends from
the media, Ladies and Gentlemen;
Today is a very special day. Special in two senses. First, we celebrate this
day as Teachers’ Day in the memory of one of the greatest sons of India, Dr.
Servapalli Radhakrishnan; acclaimed educator, scholar, philosopher. A
teacher, who came to occupy the highest office in the country. He was the
second President of India. He epitomized all the characteristics of an ideal
teacher. His life and work are a source of inspiration to all of us.
This day is also special to us because of you: our fraternity of teachers, who
have distinguished themselves and recipients of the prestigious National
Awards for meritorious teaching. You deserve not only our
congratulations, but also our gratitude for having nurtured our children
through your unstinted commitment. You have invested your precious time
in our most valuable assets.
These awards are a recognition for your hard-work, promotion of
excellence and your unique initiatives in the field of education. You
represent excellence yourselves and deserve recognition for having
nurtured it in our children. Someone pointed out and I quote “A teacher is
a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom
in the pupils”. This is easier said than done. To evoke curiosity, to have the
child pursue knowledge and find pleasure in its pursuit requires subtle
mentoring. A teacher guides without giving the impression that he/she is
doing so. A teacher must have the ability to have the student discover his
own genius. A teacher subtly motivates the student to discover both the self
and the environment around him/her. At the end, the student must be
equipped with the capacity to embark upon a journey to find a place in civil
society. A successful teacher prides in seeing the student embark upon that
journey. The entire teaching fraternity gathered here is gifted with the rare
ability of inspiring our young.
Quest for knowledge has always been a part of the ethos of our country. Yet
our national education system must undergo rapid change to respond to
the emerging challenges of globalization. Our Government is committed to
providing quality education to our children. The Eleventh Five Year Plan is
virtually a National Education Plan. The Plan allocation for education has
been stepped up from 7.7% of gross budgetary support in the 10th Plan, to
over 19% in the 11th Plan. In nominal terms there is going to be a five-fold
increase in spending on education in the 11th plan. This is an
unprecedented increase in financial support for education. While the
Government is committed to spending more on education, you as teachers
have an important role to play. It’s not just a matter of resources; it’s your
dedication, commitment, and motivation that inspires our young, that will
ultimately win the day. You can have a school without the necessary
infrastructure, but you can’t have a school without a teacher.
In today’s knowledge Age, it is imperative to develop an effective life long
learning system to provide continuing education and skills up-gradation.
This applies to teachers as well, to help them keep abreast of the changing
skills necessary to compete in the new knowledge economy. John Dana has
rightly observed, “Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” I
therefore, urge the entire teaching community, through you, to upgrade
your content knowledge and professional skills continuously.
I have no doubt that our teachers would rise to this challenge and act as
facilitators of change in the way they teach and our children learn.
I have the highest personal regard for each one of the Awardees. You are
truly leaders, not just in your profession, but also of our society. Each one of
you, therefore, is a role model for millions of children of our country. To
quote Hendry Adams, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where
his influence stops.” Be a wonderful role model because you will be the
window through which many children will see their future. You have all
contributed to the development of our nation and I hope you will continue
to inspire younger generations.
It is often been said that a country is as good as its people. I believe the
country’s citizens are only as good as their teachers. Therefore, a great deal
depends on you and I salute you, all of you, those who are present here
today, and many more who are not here, for your passion, dedication,
commitment and contributions.
I once again congratulate you all for winning this National Award. I wish
you all success in your further endeavours.