PM Modi urges teachers to raise drug awareness, help students cut screen time
NEW DELHI, SEP 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with 82 teachers selected for the National Teachers’ Awards at his residence on Friday and urged them to look beyond classroom teaching, stay alert to drug abuse among students and help reduce children’s excessive screen time.
During the interaction, teachers shared innovative teaching methods and experiences from their classrooms. A teacher from the Northeast told the Prime Minister that she teaches students public speaking.
When Modi asked her to share tips as if he were her student, she replied, “Confidence is the first requisite.” The remark drew laughter, and she added, “I get confused sir before your aura.” Modi responded jokingly, “Is the aura necessary for becoming good public speaker?”
Another teacher told the Prime Minister that she teaches students interview skills. “And, sir, all students of my school want to become reporters,” she said.
Modi asked teachers to pay attention to changes in students’ behaviour and everyday lives instead of focusing only on academic performance. Referring to the decline of joint families, he said teachers have an increasingly important role in children’s lives.
Expressing concern over growing screen addiction among children, Modi urged teachers to encourage sports, physical games and creative activities. He also asked teachers to speak to parents about children’s screen time and whether they use mobile phones late at night.
The Prime Minister also asked teachers to remain alert to signs of drug abuse among students and help them overcome the problem by identifying behavioural changes at an early stage.
“Bachapana marne nahi dena ha students meh. Bachpana bachho meh banay rakhna hai,” Modi told the teachers, urging them to preserve childhood and nurture children’s natural curiosity.
He said teachers should help children develop values such as dignity of labour and connect classroom learning with real-world skills in line with the National Education Policy.
During the interaction, a woman educator spoke about encouraging women to undergo breast cancer screening. Modi responded, “I am happy to share with you that more and more women are coming forward for screening (for breast cancer), even setting a Guinness World Record for it”.
This year, 82 teachers and educators were selected for the National Teachers’ Awards from the Department of School Education and Literacy, Higher Educational Institutions and Polytechnics, and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
-PTI
