Srinagar, Sep 05: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday felicitated 11 teachers from various schools of the union territory on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.
Five teachers were awarded silver medals and a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each for their outstanding services in the field of education while six others, including a specially-abled teacher, were given certificates of appreciation.
Addressing the gathering, Sinha said a teacher is the biggest revolutionary and courageous person in this world.
“A teacher breaks the barriers, old methods and gives a new shape, a new direction to the children, a new resolve and sparks new thinking in the minds of the children. The goal of education is not to create a competitive mind but to create a creative and curious mind. We need a fine balance between competition and creativity,” he said.
“Tests should not be based on competition but instead on originality, experiment, creative and scientific activity,” he said.
The LG said the teachers’ role is to also bring creativity inside the classroom. “They should be courageous enough to break the stereotypes and let young minds develop their own creative, innovative ideas and critical thinking”.
Director of School Education Kashmir, Tassaduq Mir said the Teachers’ Day was being celebrated to encourage the teaching fraternity to serve better.
“We are celebrating this day to boost the morale of the teachers and recognise the services they render to the nation,” Mir said.
He said in the last two years, nearly two lakh students have been enrolled in government schools under the Talaash’ scheme. “It is our effort to make sure that no child remains out of school”.
Abrar Ahmad from SP Higher Secondary School said, “Today we are celebrating Teachers’ Day but we also pay our tributes to S Radhakrishnan. The message that should go out is that respect is the foundation of the bond between a teacher and a student. In the absence of respect for the teacher, the students cannot absorb the information that is being given to them.”
Every religion imbibes respect for teachers. “Their status comes just after the parents. Whatever I am saying here is a gift from my teachers,” he added.
Hadiya, Abrar’s co-host for the event, said, “I cannot (bear to) see what is happening to our teachers today. Bullying. Disrespect. So we have to create awareness among students how we have to respect our teachers.”
