PM Modi Shares Article Highlighting Teaching As A Creative Act
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday shared an article by Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Education Jayant Singh, which describes teaching as a creative act and highlights the role of teachers in shaping students and nation-building.
Sharing the article on X, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Singh had emphasised that teaching is an art requiring human connections, pedagogy and the ability to recognise potential in students.
Singh’s article also highlighted various government initiatives, including the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, ULLAS and the Vidyanjali portal, aimed at strengthening teaching and learning and recognising teachers as contributors to nation-building.
In his article, Singh said that while machines were increasingly capable of performing predictable tasks, the human role of a teacher remained irreplaceable.
He said a teacher can often identify potential in a student that the student may not yet recognise in themselves, adding that teaching leaves behind qualities such as confidence, discipline, curiosity and the belief that one is capable of achieving more.
“Teaching cannot be classified as anything less than an art,” Singh said, underlining the importance of the relationship between teachers and students.
Subject knowledge alone not enough
Referring to the OECD’s 2026 Teacher Knowledge Survey, Singh noted that possessing deep subject knowledge does not necessarily translate into effective teaching.
He said knowing a subject and knowing how to help another person learn it were different skills, making pedagogy, human connection and classroom engagement essential elements of teaching.
He also cited the UNESCO Global Report on Teachers, 2024, which estimates that the world will require 44 million additional primary and secondary teachers by 2030, with more than half of that requirement arising from the need to replace teachers leaving the profession.
Against the backdrop of automation and changing employment patterns, Singh said the importance of competent teachers would increase further as millions of workers globally may need to transition to new occupational categories.
Focus on teacher training and professional development
Singh highlighted India’s efforts to strengthen teacher preparation through the four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme, introduced in line with NEP 2020. The programme seeks to integrate subject knowledge and pedagogy within a single undergraduate degree.
He also referred to the National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST), which seek to link career progression with demonstrated teaching quality rather than seniority alone.
The National Mission for Mentoring (NMM), he said, provides teachers with opportunities to learn from mentors across different sectors. Singh noted that he had also registered as a mentor under the initiative.
He said PM Modi’s annual interaction with National Award-winning teachers was not merely a recognition ceremony but also an opportunity to hear their experiences and understand challenges at the grassroots level.
ULLAS and Vidyanjali broaden the meaning of teaching
Singh highlighted the government’s efforts to expand the concept of who can contribute to teaching and learning.
Citing ULLAS (Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society), Singh said the New India Literacy Programme was based on the principle that anyone who is literate can help teach someone who is not.
He noted that as India observes International Literacy Day, nine states and Union Territories had been declared fully literate under the programme.
Singh also highlighted the Vidyanjali portal, which connects more than 8.75 lakh government schools with volunteers who contribute expertise in areas ranging from mathematics and public speaking to dance and crafts.
He said such volunteers should also be viewed as teachers because teaching was fundamentally a craft rather than merely a technical function.
Every subject contributes to nation-building
Singh said that India’s education system should move away from treating subjects such as music, physical education and vocational training as secondary to conventional academics.
He said music and physical activity could help students manage stress and improve their ability to learn, while the country’s expanding “orange economy” would create opportunities in creative and cultural sectors.
Similarly, sports coaches and physical education teachers could help open professional pathways as sports infrastructure expands, while ITI trainers were equipping students with precision manufacturing skills that contribute directly to sectors such as infrastructure and healthcare.
“These are all different forms of nation-building,” the minister said.
Singh said the most valuable contribution of a teacher was the ability to recognise possibilities in students that they themselves might not yet see.
He invoked the Latin phrase “Non scholae sed vitae discimus” – we learn not for school, but for life, describing the teacher as the person who makes that lifelong learning possible.
