New Delhi: Concerned over teachers in the
country being professionally "disempowered", Vice President
M Hamid Ansari on Saturday pitched for reforms in the education
system to nurture their skills and competence.
The Vice President, who gave away the National Awards
to Teachers here, described the recently passed Right
to Education Act passed by the Parliament "as more empowering,
in terms of its impact, than the Right to Vote".
"We have a situation today in which teachers are
politically empowered and professionally disempowered. This is
a disservice to the cause of education. The need of the hour
is to painstakingly rebuild the professional identity of our
teachers, nurture their skills and professional competence
through continuing education," he said.
Ansari questioned the current system of teacher
recruitment, teaching methods, performance assessment,
incentive and reward structure and manner of accountability.
"Far too often the focus, regrettably, is on
completing the syllabus rather than on cultivating critical
thinking skills and competencies. This needs to be corrected,"
he said at the function where over 300 teachers from across
the country were conferred the award on the occasion of
Teacher`s Day.
Under the Right to Education Act, the government will
come up with a framework of national curriculum, develop and
enforce standards for teacher training and provide technical
support and resources to states for promoting innovation,
research, planning and capacity.
In a departure from 51-year-old tradition, the awards
were not given away by the President but by the Vice President.
President Pratibha Patil is on a two-nation tour of Russia and
Tajikistan since Wednesday.
Bureau Report
