The Directorate of Education (DoE), Delhi, on Friday shot a notice to all aided/unaided schools in the capital directing them to make arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming Teacher’s day address to students across the country. On the direction of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the DoE has asked schools to “make available requisite number of televisions, set-top box connections, projectors, screens, amplifiers and generator sets/inverters on hiring basis, if the same are not available in the school.” However, for most city schools, the timing of the event is a bigger concern than the equipment. Principal of Springdales school, Dhaula Kuan, Jyoti Bose said, “We have to stretch our schedule a little for the PM’s address. Traditionally, we hand over the school to the students for the day and that is something we are keen to continue.” Schools are also sending circulars to parents informing them of the extended timings for the day. Laxman Public School principal Usha Ram said the school was likely to shift the events originally planned for the occasion to the next day. “Normally on Teacher’s day, we used to end school hours by noon and then the teachers would be taken out for a party. The timing of the event is a concern and after consultations with staff and parents, we will come up with a solution,” she said. In case of government schools, the DoE notification states that all the necessary expenditure for hiring aforesaid items shall be incurred from Vidyalaya Kalyan Samiti (VKS) fund. It also states that all Deputy Directors of Education are to submit a preparedness status report to the DoE headquarters by September 2. On September 5, PM Modi will interact with Delhi school children in person and via satellite link with children at National Informatics Centres in Leh, Port Blair, Silchar, Imphal, Bhuj, Dantewada and Thirumalai. HRD officials said the Secretary of School Education had asked state education secretaries to facilitate live telecast of the address, and that the Ministry did not make it “mandatory” for students. “It is entirely up to states to decide how they implement it. Delhi has chosen to do it this way,” an official said.
