Bhubaneswar, Sept. 5: Khirendra Mohan Dehury has been a teacher for 35 years. As principal of Luhamunda Upper Primary School in Angul, he is popular among the students for his friendly and caring nature.
Dehury's efforts to ensure that his students received quality education was recognised by the state government on Teachers' Day today.
"A teacher should be dedicated towards his profession and try to dig out the best qualities in his students to help them garner their talents better. The best way to make the students learn is to maintain a healthy relationship with them," he said.
Dehury has introduced a number of innovative ways such as remedial classes at his school for the students' benefit. "I conduct these classes every Saturday to make sure that the doubts of the students are cleared. I also try to send them to various competitions and engage them in extracurricular activities," Dehury said.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik felicitated 95 teachers of government schools from across the state at the programme.
Speaking on the occasion, Naveen said: "The CBSE-pattern model schools would be set up in every block in the state by 2016-2017. In the first phase, 100 schools will be established."
These schools were originally planned to start this academic year (2015-2016). However, that could not happen because of funds crunch.
"We received a portion of the funds from the central government, but that has been stopped now. We will continue with the project with the state funds," said school and mass education minister Debi Prasad Mishra.
Today, students across the state came up with interesting ways to celebrate Teachers' Day. From cooking the favourite dishes of their teachers to giving them a surprise visit with flowers and cards, the students left no stone unturned to make the day special for them.
The day was celebrated in a grand manner at many colleges and universities across the state. At Utkal University, the students felicitated the vice-chancellor and sought the blessings of their teachers.
"Teachers influence the way we live our life and today is the day to acknowledge this fact," said Subrat Behera, a student of the varsity.
Black Day
The block grant schoolteachers observed Teachers' Day as Black Day. They wore black badges, demanding immediate abolition of the block grant payment and reinstatement of the grant-in-aid system.
They have been protesting for the past 20 days on these issues.
Block Grant Secondary School Teachers and Employees' Association general secretary Prashant Mohapatra said: "Unless the teachers are provided with proper benefits, they will never be interested to work and the government should realise that. This day is dedicated to teachers and it is unfortunate that we have to celebrate the day in this manner."
