INDIA is moving in the right direction to strengthen its education ecosystem and its new education policy is being appreciated across the globe, with teachers having played a big role in formulating it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

The Prime Minister also said that India surpassing the UK to become the world’s fifth largest economy is “special” because the country has left behind those who ruled it for 250 years. Interacting with National Teacher Award recipients, Modi said teachers not only have to educate students but transform their lives.

“Our new National Education Policy is being applauded throughout the world. People are able to see how India is moving in the right direction to strengthen its education ecosystem. Our teachers have played a very important role in formulating the policy. It is up to our teachers to prepare our youth, who will decide what India would look like in ‘Amrit Kaal’ by 2047,” he said.

“We not only have to educate students but transform their lives, and lives cannot be transformed by working in silos or isolation. A successful teacher is one for whom every student is equal and there are no likes or dislikes. For teachers, an integrated approach is a must,” he added. Modi said if a child sees something in school and something else at home, he or she gets trapped in conflict and contradiction, and there is no injection to pull them out of this confusion.

“A teacher has the strength of positivity and always motivates the students to face challenges,” the Prime Minister said.