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| Anand Kumar at the programme organised by the Stanford India Association on Sunday |
Super 30 founder and mathematician Anand Kumar has underlined the need to develop more teachers to spread the light of education in all corners of the world.
He raised the point while speaking at Stanford at a programme coinciding with World Teachers’ Day on October 5 organised by The Stanford India Association.
Anand said: “World Teachers’ Day is celebrated every year to mobilise support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations continue to be met by teachers. The first and foremost need for any generation is knowledge and it comes through teachers only. There is no substitute for teachers, no matter which part of the globe we go.”
Anand is on a visit to the US and had earlier delivered lectures at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University.
Describing it as a special day, the Super 30 founder stated that such events or occasions should not remain a day’s affair but it should help create an atmosphere in which teachers get the respect and recognition they deserve. “The doctors, engineers, scientists and others have one thing in common they are made by teachers,” Anand added.
Like other academics and leaders, the Super 30 founder exhorted the Indians present there to contribute to the faster growth of their country by using enormous expertise which took them to new heights in different fields.
A large number of Indian-Americans, including vice-presidents of various firms and top officials of different companies were present. The Super 30 founder, however, lamented that everyone in society wants good teachers for one’s kid but none appeared to be inclined to motivate their wards to become good teachers.
Anand said: “The world faces an acute shortage of teachers. India has huge vacancies right from the primary school level to higher and technical education.”
In Harvard earlier during his tour, Anand said if Super 30 drew global attention despite being a small initiative, it is not only because of its success stories but for how opportunities made a big difference in the lives of those deprived and neglected.
“One opportunity is enough to galvanise them to make the most if it. Education, after all, does not differentiate, it is the system that does,” he added.
Anand said there was a time when parents used to force students into child labour due to difficult circumstances, but today they are working in top firms of India and the world.