Teachers must focus on imparting values to the students as knowledge and skills can be learnt at any stage, Director Centre for Policy Studies, Gayatri Vidya Parishad, A Prasanna Kumar said.
Delivering a talk on ‘Culture and Development’ organised by Visakha Samskrutika Sabhaa Samakhya in association with Ahamahamika Forum of the NSTL, here on the eve of Teachers’ Day, he underscored the need for inculcating the right values among the younger generation.
Talking on the state of affairs in the country, he cited studies and termed it unfortunate that only 12 per cent of the teachers are doing their duty while 88 per cent were normally absent. According to the study in Pakistan only 10 per cent teachers attend duty while 90 per cent were absent, he noted. Conventions, customs and civility are the basis of culture, he said and lamented that in India we are over-dependent on laws and ignore conventions.
It is unfortunate that there is a deficit of credibility, legitimacy and trust in the nation, he said. The former Rector of Andhra University urged all the university professors to read Amrik Singh report on the state of the universities in India and asked them to dedicate themselves to teaching values.