On Teachers’ Day, Odisha CM Majhi tells students: Stay off social media, focus on careers

Stay off social media and focus on careers – that’s what Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked students on Saturday as he addressed a Teachers’ Day event at a local government school. Interacting with students of Secondary Board High School, Cuttack, on Teachers’ Day, Majhi said students should focus on building their careers.

“As students, your first responsibility is to study well, acquire skills and contribute to your own and the country’s development. This is the basic objective of our education system. Therefore, stay away from any other activities or issues that could create obstacles in building careers,” Majhi urged the students.

“Education is not merely about acquiring knowledge. It’s a process of shaping human beings,” Majhi said. The chief minister said the relationship between students and teachers needed to be friendlier. Majhi also underlined his government’s ‘KG to PG free education’ initiative on the occasion, claiming Odisha could be the first state to implement such a scheme.

He also spoke about other government initiatives aimed at developing school infrastructure and ensuring quality education in the state. Addressing the large-scale vacancies of teachers in the state, Majhi announced that his government plans to appoint 45,000 teachers in the coming days.

“Even though our protest entered its 21st day, none from the state government reached out to hold discussions with us. On Teachers’ Day, teachers across India are revered, but it’s unfortunate that we are on the streets today,” said a protesting teacher.

The Odisha government has also cancelled the Mukhyamantri Sikshya Puraskar (CM’s education award) programme scheduled for Saturday without citing any reasons. Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent with the Indian Express and covers Odisha.

His interests are in politics, policy and people’s stories. He tweets at @bisoyisujit87 ... Read More