Education and Higher Education Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said that teachers are the architects of the nation. They reshape the future generation by providing leadership to crucial challenges, he said.
He was speaking on the World Teachers’ Day, which falls on October 5 annually.
The Minister said that the school puts into practice educational policies of a country. Education is the driving force in transfering human culture while playing an important role in society. School is the centre that provides a strong foundation for a child’s life. Therefore, principals and teachers are considered as the second parents of a child who enters school at age five.
“Principals and teachers guide students to acquire knowledge, develop skills, develop positive attitudes, and choose the right path to success,” he said.
The teacher’s in shaping the future of students with social, economic and cultural diversity is unique. It is the teachers who absorb the flow of knowledge from all directions, mix it with their own experience and transmit it to children through appropriate learning and teaching methods.
He added that dedicated teachers build a balanced citizen with virtues. They dedicate their present to the nation’s future. The teacher is the greatest professional for passing on culture from generation to generation and providing guidance for the well-being of the mankind.
“Although the teacher’s special focus is on teaching, it is associated with a wide range of areas, including personal and social development and broadening students’ learning experiences. Teachers often play various roles as parents, friends, mentors, and guardians while guiding students to become valuable members of society and setting a good example for the students.
The teacher must be a professional to effectively contribute to the student development that takes place through a variety of approaches. It is the responsibility of the teacher to handle the role in the school as well as in society. Besides, teachers have to fulfil their role in different needs,” the Minister added.
It is essential to provide quality education and implement new education reforms in Sri Lanka to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030, the Minister said.
Minister Peiris said that it is very important, the teachers to ask themselves about the quality of the service rendered by the teacher in the education system. This will give the teacher some guidance on how to maintain the role in an accepted and desired standard, which will help in establishing a more quality learning-teaching. The quality and standard of any work depends on the individual skills associated with that work, and competent teachers is essential to set up an optimal learning-teaching in the school system.
“It is important to create and optimise updated learning resources and creative learning environments. Moreover, it is important to engage students and teachers in the teaching-learning using new technologies whenever possible. It is essential to guide students to self-study and to adjust the learning-teaching to relate to the student’s real-life experience. Students should be directed to the development of various skills such as thinking skills, soft skills and creative activities. Appropriate assessment and evaluation should be directed towards achieving learning outcomes,” the Minister said.
