By Dr. N.N. Prahallada, Former Professor in Education, Regional Institute of Education, Mysuru

The role of teachers is highly significant in the present context of COVID-19 because it is the teacher who acts as a Learning Facilitator of the young minds and guides them through online education.

Teachers have been considered the cream of society, the reason being that they help children to become good citizens.  Known to be the architects of the nation, they provide the mould in which the nation’s character is cast through online education.

Teachers are expected to be competent in their subjects and pace-setters of standards by developing meaningful human relationship through online education portal. They are expected to have an aptitude for teaching and must be capable of understanding several faces of a child.

Teachers can never truly teach unless they continuously learn.  In the context of COVID-19, today, a great responsibility rests with teachers with regard to motivating the children and youth of India.

Ethical and moral values, awareness of the significance of our heritage of thought and culture, our spirit of pluralism and oneness, the inculcation of scientific temper, patriotism and a sense of mission in the task of taking our great country forward — all these need to be nurtured in young minds by our teachers through online education.

Improvement in education, whether quantitative or qualitative, can only be secured through the efforts of teachers who are the direct agents in the process of education. We want dynamic teachers, dynamic officers and a dynamic system to stimulate the static and obsolete system especially in COVID-19 context.

The teacher is the real custodian of values which he/she has to transmit to the students.  The responsibility of training youths depends on teachers and parents.  Teachers have to raise the tone of academic life in the country through online education.