Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called upon teachers to look beyond textbooks and syllabi and play a wider role in shaping the lives of students while helping preserve the innocence and creativity of childhood.
The Prime Minister made the remarks while interacting with the National Teachers’ Day Award winners in New Delhi ahead of Teachers’ Day.
Editorial Insight
Key Highlights
Important points readers should notice.
Issue/Event: PM Modi’s interaction with National Teachers’ Day Award winners.
Authority/Organisation: Government of India / Ministry of Education.
Action Taken: PM urged teachers to adopt a broader, student-focused approach beyond textbooks and classroom syllabi.
Impact: The message places greater emphasis on students’ overall development, healthy lifestyles, creativity and practical learning.
Sharing glimpses of his interaction with the award-winning teachers on social media, Modi emphasised that teachers should ensure that the child within every student remains alive. He said that for teachers to achieve this, they must also preserve the child within themselves.
The Prime Minister stressed that meaningful change in children cannot be achieved by restricting teaching to the prescribed syllabus. Instead, teachers should become a part of students’ lives and understand their interests, experiences and individual needs.
During the interaction, Modi also highlighted concerns surrounding excessive screen time among children. He suggested that students should be encouraged to participate in sports, outdoor activities and creative pursuits as ways of reducing dependence on screens and maintaining a healthier balance in their daily lives.
Editorial Analysis
Why This Matters
The Prime Minister’s message expands the role of teachers beyond academic instruction, focusing on childhood, wellbeing, creativity and real-world learning alongside education.
The Prime Minister also touched upon health awareness, including breast cancer awareness. He noted that more women are voluntarily coming forward for health check-ups, describing this as a sign of increasing awareness about preventive healthcare.
Another issue highlighted during the interaction was the growing concern over drug abuse among children and young people. Modi stressed the need for continuous awareness so that children do not unknowingly fall prey to harmful substances.
The Prime Minister also referred to the National Education Policy (NEP) and emphasised the importance of taking students beyond traditional classroom learning. He encouraged connecting children with real-world skills and different forms of work so that education becomes more closely linked to practical experiences.
The interaction also gave the award-winning teachers an opportunity to share their own experiences and innovations. The educators spoke about creative methods they have adopted to make classroom learning more engaging, effective and relevant for students.
This year, 82 teachers and educators have been selected for the National Teachers Awards across three departments.
Of these, 48 teachers are from the Department of School Education and Literacy, while 21 teachers and faculty members have been selected from Higher Educational Institutions and Polytechnics. Another 13 skill trainers have been selected from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
The Prime Minister further underlined the wider significance of Teachers’ Day, describing it as an occasion to recognise the strong contribution of teachers to society.
Teachers’ Day is also observed to pay homage to Bharat Ratna Dr S. Radhakrishnan, the former President of India, philosopher and educationist whose birth anniversary is commemorated on September 5.
