'Instill qualities to live as good human being'

12 teachers of the district get award on Teachers Day

He was the chief speaker in the district-level Teachers Day celebration which was organised by the district Public Instruction Department, Dakshina Kannada District Level Teachers Day Celebration Committee and Mangalore Zone Teachers Day Celebration Committee at St Aloysius High School Hall here on Sunday.

Putting forth his thoughts on the responsibility of a teacher, Derla said that a teacher’s role is not limited to make his student secure ranks, but is to instill the qualities to live as a good human being. “There are many instances where the top rank holders themselves are involved in illegitimate activities. Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts though having a high literacy rate, have been in news for all the wrong reasons. In spite of generating a huge number of educated people, the district has witnessed communal riots. So it is the responsibility of a teacher to build his students as socially responsible citizens,” he said.

Further, he added that education must help one to remove the walls that we have constructed between us. Students must be taught to lose, until they know what it is to lose, they are not really educated, he told.

MLA Yogish Bhat in his presidential address gave a call for the teachers to introduce innovative methods in teaching. Quoting one of the instances, where a school carried out meditation sessions to its students on a daily basis resulting in positive change of the students’ attitude, he said that teachers must explore the talent in the students and also develop in them the art of living.

Two teachers — Diwakar Acharya from Government Pre-university College Uppinangadi and Kumar K from DK ZP HP School Haradi, who have received Best Teacher State award for the year 2009-2010 were honoured during the occasion.

Meanwhile, 12 teachers were awarded with Best Teacher district award for the year 2010-2011. As many as 13 teachers from Mangalore zone who retired between September 1, 2009 and August 31, 2010 were honoured.

A total of 41 schools of the district were rewarded for securing 100 per cent result in the SSLC exam in the year 2009-2010.

Coastal Development Authority Chairman B Nagaraj Shetty inaugurated the programme. MLA U T Khader, Education and Health Standing Committee President Shantha R, Corporator Ranganath Kini, District Kannada Sahitya Parishat President Pradeep Kumar Kalkura and others were present.