President Droupadi Murmu calls for teaching in mother tongue

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday batted for teaching in mother tongue in schools, saying talent development in science, literature and social sciences can be more effective if taught in one's own language.

She was addressing the gathering at National Teachers Awards ceremony where she recalled the contribution of her school teachers due to which she became the first girl from her village to go to college. "Science, research and innovation are the basis of development in today's knowledge economy. The foundation stone for further strengthening India's position in these areas will be built through school education. I believe development of original talent in science, literature, or the social sciences can be more effective through the mother tongue," she said.

"It is our mothers who teach us the art of living in our early lives. That is why mother tongue is helpful in developing natural talent. After the mother, the teachers carry forward our education in our lives. If teachers also teach in their mother tongue, then students can develop their talent with ease.

That is why in the new National Education Policy (NEP), emphasis has been laid on use of Indian languages for school education and higher education," Murmu added.

The President remembered her teachers and said they not only taught her but also gave her love and inspiration. "On the strength of the guidance of my family and teachers, I became the first girl from my village to attend college. I always feel indebted to my teachers for whatever I have achieved in life," she said.

The President said it is the responsibility of teachers to generate interest in science and research among their students as good teachers can make complex principles easy by explaining with the help of living examples that exist in nature.

She quoted a famous saying about teachers and said "the mediocre teacher tells; the good teacher explains; the superior teacher demonstrates; and the great teacher inspires. An ideal teacher has all four qualities. Such ideal teachers build a nation in true sense by building lives of the students".

Noting that India's school education is counted among the world's largest education systems, Murmu urged teachers to encourage the habit of asking questions and expressing doubts in the students. She said by answering more and more questions and solving doubts, their knowledge would also increase. A good teacher is always enthusiastic about learning something new.

The President presented the National Awards to Teachers, 2022 to 46 awardees to honour their unique contribution to school education.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has been organising a function at Vigyan Bhawan on Teachers' Day on September 5 every year to confer the awards to best teachers of the country, selected through a rigorous transparent and online three-stage selection process.

Among the awarded teachers, three each are from Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Maharashtra. Kandala Ramaiah, T N Sridhar and Sunitha Rao (Telangana); Yudhveer, Virender Kumar and Amit Kumar (Himachal Pradesh); Harpreet Singh, Arun Kumar Garg and Vandana Shahi (Punjab); Shashikant Sambhajirao Kulthe, Somnath Waman Walke and Kavita Sanghvi (Maharashtra) are the awardees from these four states.