Filed by Uday Kumar/ Cleared by AravindMandya: District in-charge minister N Cheluvarayaswamy Friday called upon teachers, students and education officials to work together to help Mandya secure the first rank in the state in the next SSLC examinations, promising a special gift if the district achieves the feat.Speaking after inaugurating the district-level Teachers’ Day celebrations, Best Teacher Awards and felicitation of retired teachers at Guru Bhavana here, the minister attributed Mandya’s fifth-place ranking in the recent SSLC results to the collective efforts of teachers, students and the education department, and urged them to aim higher. He also expressed confidence that Mandya could secure a place among the top five districts in PUC results.The minister said teachers have a responsibility beyond helping students clear examinations and move to higher classes. They must inculcate social awareness, discipline and values among students and contribute to building a cultured society, he said.“Teachers, engineers and farmers play a vital role in building the nation. Teaching is a continuous penance and the contribution of teachers to society cannot be measured merely by examination results,” Cheluvarayaswamy said.He said govt was taking steps to honour teachers by prefixing ‘Tr’ to their names, recognising their dedicated service to society. He assured teachers that govt was processing promotions and would consider genuine demands, including those related to Old Pension Scheme (OPS), on priority.The minister announced Rs 1 crore from govt for construction of a Govt Employees’ Building in the district. Each MLA would contribute Rs 10 lakh and each MLC Rs 5 lakh towards the project.Best teachers were presented with district-level awards, while retired teachers were felicitated during the programme.Cheluvarayaswamy also reiterated govt’s commitment to strengthening school infrastructure, adopting modern learning technologies and providing teachers with better working conditions.
