Lakshman Prasad Acharya
(Governor of Assam)
Teachers’ Day is an occasion to express our gratitude to our Shiksha Gurus, those who have shaped our lives through knowledge, guidance and inspiration. Every generation carries the influence of its teachers, long after leaving the classroom. Yet, beyond remembering individual teachers, the day also offers an opportunity to reflect on the changing role of teachers.
For Assam, this reflection assumes particular significance. Our nation in general and our state in particular are passing through a period of transformation. Our young people are aspiring for opportunities beyond traditional boundaries. Technology is transforming how we create, access, and share knowledge. At the same time, Assam possesses a rich cultural and civilisational heritage that must remain alive as we embrace modernity and progress.
At the centre of these transitions stands the teacher. The teacher of today is not simply a person who stands before a classroom and imparts information. Knowledge has become accessible as never before. A student can listen to a lecture from a leading university, understand a complex scientific concept through a digital platform, or seek an answer from an artificial intelligence system within seconds.
What, then, remains uniquely important about the teacher? The answer lies in the human dimensions of education.
A competent teacher does not just tell a child what to learn. A teacher teaches a child how to think, how to question, how to distinguish between right and wrong, how to deal with failure and, most importantly, how to believe in one’s own potential. The enduring relationship between a teacher and a student demonstrates this truth. The example of Chanakya and 2 Chandragupta reminds us how the vision, mentorship and conviction of a teacher can transform the life of a student and, in turn, influence the destiny of a nation. Such human mentorship, rooted in wisdom, trust and purpose, cannot simply be replicated by technology.
With the emergence of artificial intelligence, our tribute to teachers should extend beyond mere expressions and should not diminish their importance. Instead, it should compel us to redefine and strengthen their role. The challenge before Assam is not whether technology should enter the classroom. It inevitably will. The real challenge is to ensure that technology strengthens teaching rather than weakening the human relationship at the heart of education. Teachers will increasingly have to guide students in the responsible use of technology. They will have to teach them to question information generated by machines, recognise misinformation, distinguish knowledge from mere information and retain independent judgement in an age when answers are available almost instantly.
But Assam’s teachers have another responsibility that is equally important: inspiring the younger generation to preserve the state’s cultural memory. Every society is more than the sum of its economy and institutions. Assam’s cultural identity includes its stories, languages, music, literature, traditions, festivals, crafts, values, and collective memories. Assam’s heritage is extraordinarily rich. From the spiritual and cultural legacy of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva, Sri Sri Madhabdev, Sri Sri Aniruddhadeva and Ajan Pir to the literary contributions of Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbarua, Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla and Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha from Bhaona to Bihu, and from the traditions of our diverse indigenous and tribal communities to the many languages and dialects that enrich our social fabric, Assam possesses a cultural inheritance that has evolved over centuries.
But heritage survives only when it is transmitted from one generation to another. This is where the Guru becomes a keeper of cultural memory. A child may learn about a historical figure from a textbook, but a passionate teacher can bring that history to life. A child may learn about a historical figure from a textbook, but a passionate teacher can make that history come alive. A student may read about a traditional art form, but a teacher can create curiosity about the communities that have preserved it. The classroom can become a place where young people discover not only the world beyond Assam but also the richness of the land they call home.
Our objective must therefore be to nurture young people who are globally capable and locally rooted. Assam’s children must be empowered to compete in national and international environments while remaining connected to their language, culture, history and community. This balance is critical to the Assam we seek to build.
The Assam of tomorrow will not only require engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, scientists, researchers, teachers, artists, administrators, skilled technicians and innovators, but also require responsible citizens who understand where they come from, respect diversity and feel a sense of responsibility towards society. This makes the classroom one of the most important spaces in Assam’s transformation.
To my belief, in a rapidly changing world, teachers must remain lifelong learners. They must become comfortable with digital tools, understand emerging pedagogical methods and acquire the skills necessary to navigate new technologies, including artificial intelligence. Equally important, they must receive the confidence and institutional support to innovate and adapt to the needs of different learners.
This is especially crucial for Assam, where geography should not dictate educational opportunities. A child in a remote village, a tea garden community or an interior part of the state should have the same opportunity to dream, learn and succeed as a child studying in an urban school. Technology can help bridge geographical distances, but technology alone cannot eliminate educational inequality. It requires committed teachers who can convert opportunities into meaningful learning. Recognising this contribution is a responsibility that society must embrace.
The ‘Assam Governor Varishtha Shikshak Samman’, instituted by Lok Bhavan, Assam, to honour the senior-most surviving retired primary school teachers across the state, is an expression of our collective indebtedness to a generation of teachers who devoted the most productive years of their lives to educating children and strengthening society.
In keeping with the changing landscape of education and the spirit of the National Education Policy 2020, initiatives to strengthen teachers’ digital capabilities and familiarise them with new pedagogical approaches are equally important. Empowering teachers is ultimately an investment in the future of every child. It is true that the success of Assam’s education system will not be measured only by examination results. It will also be reflected in whether our schools produce young people who are curious rather than merely compliant, confident rather than fearful, creative rather than dependent, and compassionate rather than indifferent.
On Teachers’ Day, our tribute to teachers should extend beyond mere expressions; our tribute to teachers should go beyond words of gratitude. It should be a commitment to provide them the respect, resources, training and institutional support necessary to perform their evolving role. The future teacher will occupy a unique position at the intersection of two worlds. One hand will reach towards artificial intelligence and digital technologies. The other will remain connected to Assam’s history, culture, languages and values.
The teacher will not ask children to choose between tradition and modernity. Instead, the teacher will show them how the two can coexist – how one can embrace the future without forgetting the past and how progress can be achieved without losing one’s roots. The classrooms of today will ultimately shape the Assam we aspire to build tomorrow. Roads, bridges, industries and institutions can create the physical foundations of development, but it is teachers who shape the minds that will provide purpose, direction and meaning to that development.
On this Teachers’ Day, the most meaningful tribute we can offer our teachers is not just to remember what they taught us, but to recognise the responsibility entrusted to them: to shape minds, preserve our heritage and prepare the generations that will build the Assam of tomorrow and keep the stones on the path to Viksit Assam.