Pranab for better education quality

Underlining the need to improve the quality of education in the country, President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said adaptation and application of new technology had to be an integral part of the curriculum development for all stages of education.

After presenting national awards to 310 teachers for 2011, Mukherjee said teachers had the responsibility of providing education which was rich in values and modern in content. Mukherjee, himself a former teacher, asked the teachers to give themselves a new orientation and evolve an enhanced institutional capacity.

He said, “Qualified and competent teachers, continuously renewing their capabilities and excellence through research, experimentation and innovation would be the nation’s strength.”

“We must work for the long-term goal of setting performance standards and creating top class institutional facilities for innovative training and professional development of teachers,” he said.

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said the role of the teacher was undergoing a seminal transformation, as also the expectations of parents, students and society from the education system.

Sibal said, “Teachers still occupy the pivotal role in shaping minds and characters, but teachers today are not the sole medium for transfer of knowledge. The interactions in the classroom are supplemented by various other sources of information and competing thoughts.”

He added that: “Recognising the changing role of the teacher and to orient the education system towards this change, we propose to launch the National Mission on Teachers and Teaching in the Twelfth Plan.”