By Grace Pinto

Sep 5: September 5, is celebrated as ‘Teachers’ Day’ to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, the Second President of India and a renowned teacher and a philosopher for his commendable contribution to education. This day is rightly set aside to honour our teachers for their sacrifice in making a significant contribution to the society. Dr Radhakrishnan believed that ‘teachers should be the best minds in the country’. Indeed, teachers are lifelong learners because learning never stops neither for them nor for the students.

Due to the current pandemic situation, over the past few months, the Indian K-12 sector has evolved tremendously with a transition taking place from offline to online mode of learning. Lifelong learning being the essence of teaching, we witnessed teachers unlearn and relearn, and learn new strategies and tools that were available online in order to provide a productive learning experience for the students. As a result, there was a seamless transition for many schools from offline to virtual interactive model of learning.

We greatly commend all our teachers for their commitment and sincere effort to constantly upgrade and equip themselves for the betterment of our students. In the years ahead, hybrid blended learning with ‘face-to-face classrooms and virtual lessons’ is likely to be the future of education that will provide engaging and meaningful learning experiences for our students. Virtual learning as an integral part of the education system is here to stay, however the holistic development through school activities with teachers as mentors will continue to remain an extremely integral part of child’s education.

While we appreciate our teachers for their relentless effort to guide children, with the National Education Policy (NEP2020) the whole pedagogical framework has undergone a change and therefore we will stand to benefit if our teachers as lifelong learners embrace the changes proactively and redesign and redefine the learning outcomes to make our children more global citizens. Teachers as mentors are not only empowering individuals but empowering generations to come. On this Teachers’ Day, we urge all our dear teachers to rededicate themselves for this noble cause of education. There is a wealth of talent and potential within every child and teachers would serve them well to facilitate the unlocking of this wealth and empowering them to discover their true purpose in life. Teachers - cherish your special calling to be lifelong learners in order to impact eternity.

Happy Teachers’ Day!

Grace Pinto is managing director of Ryan International Group of Institutions.