Teaching is not a mere profession but a movement and the teachers are the leaders of this movement. Most of the people who are in this profession regard teaching as a profession or a way of earning livelihood. This movement will change the destiny of this country towards development, communal harmony, peace and prosperity if progressed under dynamic and committed leadership, but will ruin this country if not progressed under visionary leaders (teachers).
These were the views of S. Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker Panjab Vidhan Sabha while addressing the 92nd Convocation of the SCD Government College Ludhiana. He reminded the great “Vishnu Gupta-Chankya” who being a teacher runs this movement and change the destiny of this great nation. If today Indian people are enjoying freedom as a unified country, it is only because of the kranti of Vishnu Gupt (Chankya) who traveled miles to educate the people for their self-esteem. Mr Atwal Said Chankya used to say that – the mother and a shikshak have the ability to bring about the revolution. If they desire, they can change the future of the current generations.
They can play a bigger role in making the character based society that holds esteem values and principles. If they desire, they can even throw out the powerful kings. S. Atwal Said that nation is surpassing today from a critical phase. Our development is hampered by a chronic disease “Corruption”. Corruption has been a problem which has haunted governance in this nation. India ranks 85th out of 179 countries in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. Citizens from all walks of life are affected by this malaise. Corruption adversely affects the country’s economic development as it promotes inefficiency in utilization of resources, compromises quality, destroys the environment, denies basic rights and services to the citizens and of late has become a serious threat to national security. It adds to the deprivation of the poor and the weak.
It distorts the very market which sustains business and corporate. Therefore it makes very little sense to pursue commercial and professional interest by ignoring ethics in one’s life. S. Atwal affirmed that Our New Government under the dynamic leadership of our Chief Minister S. Parkash Singh Badal is focused to eradicate corruption in public life and committed to give a clean administration with a clear vision, wisdom and dynamism. But my dear friends government efforts in isolation cannot work to curb the corruption in public life unless the people like you come forward and help the government to eradicate this menace from public life.
Every stakeholder of educational institutions has to work as a cohesive team to curb this menace so that our nation can progress to achieve the status of super power. He said that with the market forces changing the ecology of higher education, with the din and clamour for ‘specific’ courses, with ever increasing demand for providing ‘marketable skills’ to our youngsters, let institutions of higher learning also look at education as a process which helps one to discover one’s self. Education should result in discovering the perfection in man, in discovering the ultimate truth of life and help lead a life worthy of life itself. Swami Vivekananda aptly expresses this idea : “ The goal of mankind is knowledge … Now this knowledge is inherent in man. No knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a man ‘knows’ should, in strict psychological language, be what he ‘discovers’ or unveils’; what man ‘learns’ is really what he discovers by taking the cover off his own souls, which is a mine of infinite knowledge.”