Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha today greeted the teaching fraternity across J&K on the occasion of Teachers’ Day which is observed every year on the birth anniversary of country’s second President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, who himself was an accomplished teacher and dedicated his whole life for the cause. In an online event, the Lt Governor, while addressing scores of teachers and students across J&K, highlighted the importance of this day which is observed as a mark of respect for the Nation Builders, underscoring their indispensable role in the overall development and progress of our great country. The Lt Governor took note of the efforts of the teaching fraternity during the prevailing pandemic and said that teachers have shown the society that tough times can be used as an opportunity. He made an on-spot announcement of instituting Union Territory Level Awards for Teaching fraternity from next year. The Lt Governor observed that Health care and Education are the cornerstones of the development. A society is judged by its achievements in these two sectors. A Community is considered great or otherwise depending upon its ability to provide health care and education to its most marginalized sections. The providers of healthcare, Doctors, hold special status the world over. Our civilization places the providers of education-the Teachers, even a step higher. We revere them as Guru, Acharya or Ustad. In his address,the Lt Governor invoked the sayings of Sant Kabir in which he says that his first bow is to the Guru and not God, because it is the Guru who showed him the way to God. He also quoted a statement by Aristotle – “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than they who produce them; for these only gave them life, those the art of living well” which appropriately depicts that a Teacher occupies the most respectable place in society all over the world, who come forward to make the process of education conducive, meaningful and welfaristic as per the demand of time and space so that it leads to all round development of the child. At the event, the Lt Governor formally launched the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme (ECCE) through online mode. He also dedicated projects, worth Rs 20 crores, of the School Education Department, accentuating overall education infrastructure in the UT. The State Council of Education, Research, and Trainings (SCERT) was also inaugurated on this occasion through electronic mode. The SCERT will function in the UT on the lines of NCERT, which is the apex institution of educational research and training’s at the National level. The Lt Governor outlined that the Union Territory has embarked on a new mission, a new path of progress. The Union Government has put peace and prosperity of the people of this land on top priority. This is reflected in a large number of decisions taken in last one year. He stressed that the road ahead is full of opportunities to realize the potential of this region and exhorted upon the officers to put in their best efforts for laying a new foundation for all-round development. Advisor to the Lt Governor, KK Sharma; Chief Secretary, B. V. R. Subrahmanyam; Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor, Bipul Pathak; Principal Secretary, School Education & Skill Development, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon; Chairperson, JKBOSE, Prof. Veena Pandita; Director School Education Kashmir, Mohammad Younis Malik were also present on the occasion; while Deputy Commissioners, senior officers of the School education Department, Teachers and scores of Students joined through video conferencing.
