To ensure this, he called for increasing access to the Internet and ‘putting inclusivity at the heart of the educational experience’, especially in rural areas and remote places. The mantra should be – Embrace, Engage, Enlighten and Empower.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the Sports Center at the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) in Chennai today, Naidu expressed concern about the impact of the pandemic on education and said that girls affected by school closures, Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, those living in rural areas, children with disabilities and children from ethnic minorities compared to their peers. The Vice President also inaugurated the NITTTR Open Educational Resource (OER) on the occasion today. Describing it as an important step towards improving inclusivity through distance education, he said that it will help teachers to improve their knowledge base and teaching method.
Calling upon the governments to take corrective action, Naidu suggested that one of the important measures is to upgrade the skills of teachers in e-learning.
He emphasized the importance of quality teacher training in India. He further said that ‘teachers form the intellectual lifeline of a nation and play a vital role in determining its development’.
Naidu further stressed the need to create teachers who are ‘learners and creators of knowledge – teachers who touch lives and seek to uplift the human condition. “We need inspirational, transformational leaders in our classrooms, especially in rural India.
Talking about India’s demographic dividend, he said that teachers have a great responsibility in making India’s vast youth population responsible citizens. “Education does not mean just degrees,” he said, adding that the real aim of education is knowledge, empowerment and knowledge.
The Vice President also called upon the institutions to focus on developing a constructive and positive attitude among the students.
The Vice President lauded the role of teachers as ‘COVID warriors’ and did their best to ensure academic continuity of their students during the pandemic.
He said the teaching community had discovered the technology and showed “remarkable flexibility in rediscovering its strategies and methodologies to support student learning”.
Referring to the National Education Policy 2020 as a visionary document, the Vice President said that it seeks to transform the education ecosystem in our country and underlined the importance of activating and motivating young faculty members.
He urged the teachers to adopt innovative strategies to address important national and global challenges and opportunities in an intellectually vibrant, collaborative environment. Stressing on the need for colonization of India’s education system, the Vice President called for taking inspiration from India’s ancient knowledge systems and the great sages who made our country the world guru – the giver of knowledge.
Stressing on the need to promote and protect Indian languages, Naidu appreciated AICTE for starting technical courses in Indian languages. Reiterating that no language should be imposed or opposed, he said that as many languages as possible should be learned but mother tongue should be given priority.
Advising the teachers to provide ‘experiential education’ to the students, Naidu said that such learning methodology helps in fostering creativity and innovative outcomes. He called for moving the teaching from one-way mode of communication to two-way mode where activities should be linked from the context to the content.
Calling upon NITTTR to play a leading role in producing excellent teachers through well-structured and scientifically designed training programmes, he appreciated the efforts made to train more than 60,000 learners in the last two years.
He appreciated the institute for training international participants as well as under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Expressing happiness at the inauguration of the Sports Center at NITTTR, Shri Naidu, himself a sports enthusiast, exhorted the teachers to stay fit and encourage their students to practice sports or yoga regularly. He said that this pandemic has highlighted the importance of physical fitness and healthy eating for good immunity against diseases.
Later, while interacting with the students and faculty members of NITTTR, Naidu stressed on the need to change our teaching methods especially in technical institutions. In response to a question, he called for better facilities like good hospitals, schools, roads and connectivity in rural areas to bridge the rural-urban divide and prevent migration to cities.
He also urged the state governments to focus on smart cities programs and make them model cities to motivate other urban centers to improve their facilities.
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