AI can provide information, but cannot replace teachers: Yathindra

Minister in-charge of Mysuru district Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Saturday said technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) could never replace teachers, as teachers play an important role in shaping students’ character, values and conduct.

He was speaking after inaugurating the district-level Teachers’ Day-2026 celebrations organised by the district administration, Zilla Panchayat and the School Education Department at Kalamandira in Mysuru to mark the 138th birth anniversary of Dr.

Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Dr. Yathindra said students today had free access to vast amounts of information through technology and AI. However, teachers continued to play an irreplaceable role in guiding students and nurturing their personality, ethical values and social consciousness.

“Education is not just about imparting information. It is about developing good character and moral values in students. This is a task that only teachers can accomplish,” he said, adding that Indian tradition accorded teachers a status equal to that of revered deities.

He assured that the State government was committed to providing the necessary school infrastructure. Measures were being taken to improve school buildings, repair classrooms and address the shortage of teachers. The government had already initiated the process of recruiting around 15,000 teachers, he said.

Narasimharaja MLA Tanveer Sait said teachers needed to constantly adapt to changing circumstances to meet the challenges of providing quality education in the 21st century. Although the age group of students entering classrooms remained broadly the same year after year, their mindsets and educational needs changed with time.

Teachers could often understand a child’s psychological and academic needs even better than parents, he said. He said government and aided schools had highly qualified teachers, but there was a need to improve their acceptance.

Former professor and retired Director of the Central Institute of Indian Languages C.G. Venkatesha Murthy said teaching was not merely a profession, but a sacred responsibility involving the shaping of future generations.

He called for ramps and railings to be made mandatory in schools for children with disabilities. Infrastructure should be put in place before children arrive at school, rather than being provided only after a child with special needs joins, he said.

He also stressed the need to strengthen schemes such as the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) to promote girls’ education. Krishnaraja MLA T.S. Srivatsa, Chamaraja MLA K. Harish Gowda, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Yukesh Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner R.

Aishwarya, School Education Department Deputy Director Uday Kumar and others were present.