Today India celebrated Teachers Day, which is actually the birthday of the country’s second President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Radhakrishnan believed that “teachers should be the best minds in the country”. Among the things that India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, addressed in his speech is why the teaching profession “has lost his sheen” and why the industry fails to attract top graduates. Mr. Modi also placed special emphasis on the education of girls and stressed the need for every individual to be involved in the act of nation building. An amusing interaction between the Prime Minister and the students he was addressing can be read here.

UNESCO honours teachers worldwide every October 5th. This year’s theme is ‘Invest in the future, invest in teachers’. If you choose to celebrate World Teachers Day in your school, you can register the event with UNESCO and be a part of their report on how different schools honour their teachers on this occasion, worldwide.