Teachers are one of the biggest contributors towards nation-building. They impact thousands of lives through their work, said Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia at the State Teachers Award ceremony at the Delhi Secretariat.

Ninety-eight teachers and school principals were honoured for their invaluable contribution in school education. They were felicitated by Deputy CM in presence of Udit Prakash, director of education, Shailendra Sharma, education advisor and other senior officials of education department.

“We are exactly a year after the complete lockdown was imposed for the first time in our country. Our education system was badly hit by the pandemic as school closures left everyone clueless about the teaching-learning during the Covid times. But, our teachers and school principals really stepped up to the occasion and showed unparalleled grit and determination in responding to this situation,” he said.

“Teachers ensured that ‘learning never stops’ by reaching out to their students through innovative means. Teachers who did not know how to use a smartphone equipped themselves with the knowledge of how to use it. Their efforts are really praiseworthy”, said Sisodia.

Imploring teachers to rethink strategies on assessment and learning, Sisodia said, “We need to build correct approaches and develop 360 degree assessments for our students. The premise of rote-learning evaluated through an end of year three-hour exam is an injustice to our students and teachers. The challenge is to eliminate rote-learning practices and this is why we are at the juncture of establishing the Delhi Education Board,” he said.

Our Delhi Education Board will develop continuous and comprehensive assessments augmenting a holistic learner profile of students and enabling teachers to refine their instruction, he added.

“Our diverse approaches in education have not been limited to building strong school infrastructure and ensuring good pass percentages. Our modus operandi is to bring in curricular changes and we have done that by introducing Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum, Happiness Curriculum and now, Deshbhakti Curriculum,” he said

Elaborating it further, he said “We are in the process of establishing the first ever Delhi Virtual School with the idea of anywhere living anytime learning and anytime testing. Our model of education has not been a model of leadership; it is a collective model of education. Our efforts are only possible with the support of our teachers,”the Deputy CM added..