Ranchi, Oct. 31: Quality education is not achievable without quality teachers, observed eminent academics who had assembled in the capital today to deliberate on a new policy for improving the standard of teaching right from school to university level.

Chief minister Raghubar Das, who was chief guest at the regional consultative meet, said that knowledge was the key for survival in this fast-changing world and serious deliberations were needed for introducing effective changes in the system to ensure quality education for all.

"Quality education for all is still a distant dream. Teacher-student relationship is no more what it used to be and education has been reduced to just another means of business," Das observed.

He stressed on the skill-based education.

University vice chancellors, BEd college principals and educationists from Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh took part in the meet organised jointly by National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), the state higher and technical education department and Ranchi University at a city hotel.

Secretary (higher education) Ajay Kumar Singh said teachers played an important role in shaping the future of students and thus, they must improve their skill on content (subject) management and its presentation. They should have leadership quality and present themselves in such a way that the children look up to them as their role models," he added.

Earlier, starting the session, NCTE member-secretary Juglal Singh said the existing education policy was adopted in 1986 and modified in 1992.

"There has been several changes since then that warrant a policy revision," he said.

An inclusive, participatory and holistic approach should be adopted to bring about the positive changes, he added.