Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on Saturday said the role played by teachers and their relationship with students and parents have now become “transactional,” which, according to him, was unlike the role played by gurus in the ‘gurukula’ system in the past.
Addressing teachers and educationists as part of the Governor’s Think to dare series of interactions, he said he could recall drawing water from the well for his teacher to bathe, and “pressing” his teacher’s legs when he slept. “Can you think of these today,” he asked. This was the legacy that the country had for many centuries, he said.
He said the word ‘teacher’ did not convey the full meaning of the role that gurus played in the past. Recalling that in his village, everyone used to listen without questioning when the teacher spoke, he said this was not because of any “legislative authority” that the teacher held, but because of “moral authority”.
In contrast, the teaching profession is now viewed as a service for which one gets paid, Mr. Ravi added.
Corporal punishment
Stressing that he was not advocating corporal punishment, the Governor, however, said that when he was beaten by his teachers, his parents never got to know about it since he realised that the beating was for his own well-being.
In the past, parents knew that the teachers would not do anything detrimental to their wards and even if the children were awarded corporal punishment, the parents knew that the intention was good.
“Today, when a teacher scolds a child, I am not sure how the parents take it,” he said.
This trust shared in the past has now eroded due to degradation of value system, he said, adding that ideals like freedoms, duties and separation of powers articulated in the Constitution were “value-neutral” and did not reflect ‘Bharat’.
According to him, it was for this purpose that the Constituent Assembly engaged artist Nandalal Bose to depict the evolutionary journey of Bharat through paintings in the Constitution. The first painting in the Constitution was that of a ‘gurukula’ system, he said.
Pointing out that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasised Indian knowledge systems, he said the term not only meant ancient knowledge, but also the value system. He expressed hope that the values would be restored in the near future.
The country had persuaded other countries to include African Union in the G-20, he said, adding that this was a reflection of the country’s “DNA and the ideal of Vasudhaiva kutumbakam”.
Mr. Ravi also felicitated the teachers who had won State and national awards in the past.
