CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said it is the responsibility of teachers to ensure regressive ideas such as casteism and gender inequality do not take root in the minds of students.
He was speaking at the inauguration of a training programme for 2,715 newly recruited government teachers in the city.
As part of the event, he distributed cash awards of Rs 10,000 each to 142 Class 10 and 12 students who scored full marks in Tamil language in public examinations. He also laid the foundation stone for new buildings in 243 schools and the headquarters of the Bharat Scouts and Guides, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 277 crore, besides inaugurating completed facilities worth Rs 94 crore across 26 districts.
“Teachers should instill in students values of equality and social justice, and introduce them to good role models. You (teachers) should also be good role models to them. Also, introduce students to libraries and inculcate in them the habit of reading beyond textbooks,” he said.
Teachers must always remember they are shaping future doctors, engineers, scientists and political leaders, Stalin said. Apart from academics, he said, teachers must also pass on social awareness they have learnt over the years. In an age when information is easily available, their role is to spark critical thinking in students using that data, the CM said.
“We should not create a generation that depends only on technology. Students must be made to realise the difference between human thinking and technology,” he said, emphasising on teaching social values and civic sense to students.
Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, other ministers and senior officials participated in the event.