RTI has the potential to transform lives of our children: PM
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, September 05 2011: Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh speaking on the occasion of Teachers' Day today expressed his happiness in meeting the awardee teachers.

Recalling that the day happens to be the birthday former President Dr.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a man of great wisdom and a teacher of extraordinary capabilities, the Prime Minister saisd that "his life and work are a source of abiding inspiration for all of us" .

Expressing his gratitude to teachers for their immense contribution to the processes of nation building, the Prime Minister extended very warm greetings to all teachers of the country on the occasion of Teachers' Day.

Having started his career as a teacher, he said, "teaching has always been very close to my heart" and he felt "especially happy to have this opportunity to meet the outstanding teachers who are to be honoured today for their meritorious services and contribution to the cause of school education".

Congratulating the awardee teachers the Prime Minister said, "These National Awards are a small token of our gratitude to our teaching fraternity" .

Reiterating the Government commitment to providing quality education to all our children, Dr Manmohan Singh said that the Right to Education legislation has the potential to transform "our schools and the lives of our children" .

He said, "teachers inculcate moral values in our children and inspire them to high ideals of patriotism, communal harmony and commitment to the cause of social justice.

It is they who awaken in children the hunger for knowledge.

They have the power to develop in our children the ability to contribute to our society and the processes of nation building" .

As more and more children with diverse backgrounds enter the school system in future, the challenge for teachers, the Prime Minister said, "will be to work towards a democratic classroom in which all children participate in the learning processes as equal partners" .

He also stressed the need to balance between tradition and modernity while educating children and young adults and to ensure that "our unique cultural heritage is preserved while preparing the children for global citizenship".

Our effort, according to Dr Manmohan Singh' "should be to inculcate in the children not only high moral values but also progressive, rational attitudes which enable them to compete with others in the globalized world that we live in" .

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