Speaking about the importance of teachers Shri Modi said, “Under a teacher, an entire generation is created, which determines how a nation’s future will be”. Shri Modi said that for a teacher to be successful, it is important that there is a student in him or her. He added that having a student within us could also mean that a little student sitting in front of us becomes our teacher, from whom we can imbibe something new. He recalled that when he took over as CM people wondered how would a person with no prior experience succeed but he said that today Gujarat has a Government that it can be proud of and this is because there is also a student in him.
He told the teachers, “Achieving a PTC or B.Ed does not mean the journey is over. Infact, it is a sense of responsibility. It tells us what one’s duties are”. He urged the teachers to inspire their students and said, “I have seen teachers whose fathers were teachers and they would come to class with their father’s notes. No student will accept this.”
The Chief Minister talked about the various steps taken by the Gujarat Government in the field of education. He recalled that when he took over as CM, Gujarat was lagging behind in education especially enrollment of women students. Shri Modi stated, “We worked towards 100% enrollment, where we attained success. Then we saw teachers are less, so we recruited lakhs of teachers. Then we realized that we need classrooms so we built thousands of classrooms. We worked towards giving every school a computer, broadband, electricity and long distance education. One by one we were bringing changes and then we realized that it would be good if we set up a separate cadre of principals. Through manpower, budget, technology…through every way we worked towards strengthening education”. He added, “Now the students who enrolled since 2001 are growing up and they are leaving their villages to study. So we allotted Rs. 200 crore for building hostels across the state. Let everyone who wants to study get the opportunity”.
He went on to say that in addition to providing the necessary support, the Government started the Gunotsav initiative where primary schools are graded and everyone from the Collector are involved in the process.
Shri Modi shared that back in 2001 Gujarat had 11 Universities but now that number has risen to 46 in a decade. He stressed on the fact that with the same system and the Government schools, it is possible to make a difference. Shri Modi said, “Narendra Modi is a product of a Government school. It was the same government teachers who taught me.”
Shri Modi affirmed there is a perception that for jobs and transfers there are price tags but things are different in Gujarat. He went on to say that there is not a single instance of corruption as far as appointment and transfers are concerned in Gujarat and expressed confidence that with a visionary approach it is possible to do recruitment and transfers without corruption. Shri Modi declared that the nation is fed up of corruption and people are asking how to combat it.
Principal Secretary Education Shri AM Tiwari and other officials were present on the occasion.
