By Farooq Shah
SRINAGAR- Lieutenant Governor of the J&K UT, Manoj Sinha, urged the teaching community on Monday to approach their profession with the highest responsibility in order to live up to the expectations that parents place in them when they entrust the future of their children to them.
Sinha was addressing a jam-jam-packed gathering comprising mostly teachers in the auditorium of the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre on the eve of the Teachers Day.
Teachers’ Day is celebrated each year on this day to recognise the importance of teachers in our lives. The occasion falls on Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s birthday, who was India’s first vice-president, second president, and an ardent supporter of education.
LG Sinha while placing the blame on the system raised serious concerns about why adolescents begin to lose their sense of creativity, curiosity, inventiveness, and risk-taking ability around the age of 15 or 16.
“Since the system he or she had been using was possibly flawed by its very nature, neither a teacher nor a student is to blame for all of this,” Sinha said. “Rote-memory and intense competition to achieve the highest exam results led to a mechanical system whereby a student finds himself at a crossroads after finishing the 10th class examination.
Hailing the new education policy aka NEP-2020, he said the document’s creators made sure to take into account any inconsistencies that the previous policies may have had.
“Institutions eventually had to make significant investments in unlearning just to know what to drop and what to keep,” he said. “You must consider yourselves the luckiest ones as you have a document that ensures universal access at all levels of schooling to Grade-12 with a new curricular and pedagogical structure like never seen before.”
NEP-2020, he said, will usher you to a learning institution rather than a factory where goods are produced solely for profit and loss.
According to Sinha, nations that made investments in the knowledge economy advanced much more quickly than those that trailed behind in adopting these ideas.
“The knowledge economy both supports, and is fuelled by, innovation, research, and rapid technological advancement,” Sinha remarked. “In the knowledge economy, highly skilled employees make up the vast majority of the workforce. Developing certain skill sets is becoming more and more important. In the current economy, skills like data analysis, developing and using financial models, and innovation are in high demand.”
Sinha said that different changes are ensuring the quality of education in every school and that community involvement is making the dream of universal education a reality.
“Attending to an excellent school is more important than just going to any school,” he said. “Quality education is being ensured in all UT schools in order to accomplish this goal, and it is one of our top priorities.”
Hailing the efforts of teachers, Sinha said the person after the father who aspires for his student to advance faster than him was the teacher.
The word ‘Guru’, Sinha said, confers the utmost honour and respect to teachers, which no other definition can match.
The event concluded with an award-distribution ceremony wherein the best teachers picked up for the year were felicitated by the Lieutenant Governor.
“Although there may be fewer prizes given out for the top teachers of the year, there are plenty more talented and competent ones who have performed just as admirably,” he said.
Attends Foundation Day Of Jammu University
Sinha on Monday attended the 53rd Foundation Day function of University of Jammu, an official spokesperson said.
Sinha, he said, observed that the world is changing rapidly and education along with it and said, to cater ever growing demand for better standard and quality of education, University has gone through many changes in the last 53 yrs and has evolved as a centre of excellence.
On the occasion, he said, the LG congratulated the faculty, and all those associated with the functioning of the University for achieving great milestones, shaping young minds and increased collaboration between academia and industry.
The spokesperson said that the LG invoked the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that NEP will redefine education in Universities and expressed his whole hearted support to the initiatives of the University.
“National Education Policy stresses upon nurturing creativity, curiosity, collaboration, involvement of students in activities inside and beyond the classroom. The education policy is a beacon of light to guide and motivate teachers as well as students and overall learning outcomes,” Sinha said.
The LG, as per the spokesperson emphasized that the real function of education is to nurture talents. National Education Policy provides us an opportunity to develop our Universities, education institutions as centres of future oriented, value based quality education centres where students get an independent environment to innovate and invent.
“Education is the key to open the mind of students. Individual growth and independent thinking is possible only when a student is provided an environment not confined to the classroom and gets an opportunity to nurture creativity and wisdom,” the LG said.
“Under the guidance of Prime Minister, we have received an opportunity to make sure that universities are not known as centres of providing degrees but the education and increasing the collaboration between teachers and students,” he added.
The spokesperson said that the LG further said that students don’t just need the degree, they need education and it is possible only with increased involvement and collaboration with teachers.
Highlighting the major initiatives of the University of Jammu, the spokesperson said that the LG attributed the establishment of Special Purpose Vehicle Foundation in November 2020 as a major milestone and a significant step towards promoting a culture of Start-ups, Industry-Academic Partnership, Innovation and Incubation in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Sinha, he said, also stated that the establishment of Guru Nanak Chair was in line with the National Education Policy, as it was a major initiative to reestablish the significance of our invaluable cultural heritage.
“The ancient wisdom by saints and seers and contribution of great scientists is what actually forms the foundation of modern India,” the LG said.
On the occasion, the spokesperson said that the LG urged all the teachers to dedicate themselves to opening the minds of their students to new ideas, stirring curiosity and nurturing creativity by creating an open environment for their growth and eventually facilitating in building a new society in future.
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