September 10, 2014
Sadbhav
Mission
B16, Sarvodaya
Enclave, New Delhi 110017
Prof. V. K. Tripathi
Convenor
Shri
Narendra Modi
Hon’ble Prime Minister
South Block
New
Delhi 110001
September 10, 2014
Sub.: Prime Minister’s Address to Children on Shikshak Divas
Hon’ble Sir,
Shikshak Divas has a sanctity. It has been an occasion i) for teachers to
introspect and realize that a lamp lights as long as it burns itself, a
teacher can teach only as long as he keeps learning, and ii) for students
to express their love and gratitude towards their teachers to strengthen
the bond of oneness. The strictures and dictates passed on schools on this
shikshak divas overshadowed and dumped that motive. In fact converting
shikshak divas into guru parva and forcing students country wide to watch
your speech/ interaction live appeared more like an exercise in self
projection than in touching tender souls.
Soul is touched by the totality of personality, by the tender and personal
touch. Your persona as a power figure, as an authority superior to all
others has little for children to emulate, to sublime their ego, arrogance
or desire to cheat to gain superiority. You may call your self the first
servant but you do not reflect the humiliation and hardship a servant
lives. He/ she never gets the round the clock media coverage as you have
been getting for the last one year, ever since your Lallan College speech
on August 15, 2013.
The children and parents are already exhausted of watching you on TV
channels. Forcing them to watch you for additional two hours in specially
arranged display systems in schools which do not have adequate number of
teachers and classrooms and where half the teachers are heavily underpaid,
is not commensurate with the spirit of academics and education. Rather
than shadowing the personality of teachers by a virtuous personality, it
would be much healthier to let teachers blossom and students grow in an
atmosphere of freedom where there are no pressures and no discrimination
of gender, caste, religion, language or status.
Internet connectivity to schools is a positive thing but it should not be
only for a day in a year. It must also be remembered that internet or TV
learning is no substitute for class room teaching. Teacher is the backbone
of teaching and he must be sustained with dignity and given freedom to
operate. Students are the souls of schools and they must be respected.
On
behalf of Sadbhav Mission and our countrymen, I urge you and MHRD to stop
this exercise of projecting executive authority as super guide.
Best regards
V.K.
Tripathi
[email protected]