Narendra Modi addresses teachers through video link

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today addressed more then 2.2 lakh teachers in the state through video conference and urged them to be teachers in real sense and inspire children.

"A teacher who is only waiting for the bell to end the day can never shape minds. But a teacher who thinks about the pupil, the pupil's future, is the true teacher," Modi said in his address after inaugurating a five-day training program under 'Sarva Shikhsa Abhiyan' for the primary teachers.

His address to the teachers participating in the training program across over 300 centres was delivered via satellite link-up through Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Application and Geo-Informatics (BISAG).

"The children of Gujarat, their lives and future are of utmost importance and we need your help in shaping their lives. It is about the future," Modi said.

"Agitations and your demands are understandable, we can sort all of that out by discussing it, but we cannot sacrifice the future of our little students, which is of prime importance. There may be problems but it's not the fault of those children," he added.

The Chief Minister also asked teachers to take children to picnic once a month and invite their parents too "so that children do not become victims of loneliness".