Tripura students, teachers thrilled after hearing Modi

Students and teachers in Tripura are excited after hearing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's live address to students on Teachers' Day Friday.

"We are very happy that the prime minister has directly addressed us (students). We would be happier if we get a chance to directly interact with him," Sayantika Chakraborty, a class 6 student of the state-run Sishu Bihar Higher Secondary School here, told IANS.

Anuradha Saha, a class 8 student of the same school, said: "This is unimaginable when we saw (on television) that the prime minister was interacting with the students of Delhi and other states. We expect that one day he would also interact with us and we would share our views and problems with him."

Like students, teachers are also equally thrilled after hearing the live telecast of Modi's address and his interaction with the students from different parts of the country.

N. Sailo, a president award winning teacher of the school, said: "This kind of direct interaction and sharing of views between the prime minister and students would encourage the students and teaching faculties to perform better and to be a good human being."

She said: "Like students, we are also keen to interact with the prime minister directly to share our views and to take his advice."

The Left Front government in Tripura made the necessary arrangements so that students could listen to the live telecast of Modi's address.

"We have technical limitations for making arrangements in a large number of schools for students to hear the live address of the prime minister from New Delhi. However, we made arrangements in 38 schools across Tripura," Education Minister (Higher and School Education) Tapan Chakraborty told IANS.

Of the 38, 30 are state-run while eight are government-aided private schools.

The 53rd Teachers' Day was also observed separately across Tripura. The main programme was held here with Chief Minister Manik Sarkar addressing a gathering of students, teachers, guardians and officials.

Sarkar also felicitated 16 in-service and six retired teachers for their outstanding performance.

The 'Pundit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar' award, instituted by the state government a few years back, was given to president award winning retired teacher Manoj Kanti Sarkar for lifetime excellence in teaching.

Besides, 11 best performing schools were felicitated with mementos.

The birth anniversary of former president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a respected scholar and teacher of philosophy, is celebrated every year as Teachers' Day.