Noble prestige and unique attributes of benefactor teachers incomparable
Teachers must guide their students to become responsible and capable citizens of the future, equipped with five strengths: accountability, moral integrity, discipline, knowledge, and a commitment to serving the State’s interests.
The following is the message sent by Chairman of the State Administration Council Prime Minister of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Thadoe Maha Thray Sithu Thadoe Thiri Thudhamma Min Aung Hlaing to the ceremony to mark the World Teachers’ Day, which falls on 5 October 2024. The full text of the message is as follows: -
Esteemed teachers,
First and foremost, I would like to disperse my affection to all teachers across Myanmar to enjoy physical and mental well-being on the occasion when the World Teachers’ Day falls on 5 October 2024, today.
There is no one who is untouched by teachers in this world. Every individual learns through three types of activities: teaching, observation, and listening. Attributes of teachers are invaluable and noble. Hence, all global countries respectfully honour the attributes and gratitude of teachers. Since 1994, World Teachers’ Day has been observed on 5 October every year in accord with the themes depicting the benefits of teachers: “Let’s value teachers to enhance their future”, Let teachers strive for a brighter future”, “Equal respect for teachers will lead to a peaceful society”, and “Teachers initiate educational reform”. This year’s occasion of honouring the teachers turns 31 years.
Myanmar has a fine tradition of paying respect to teachers for honouring and dedicating their attributes and gratitude over the years. Venerable Sariputtara, who was the greatest right disciple flanking the Lord Buddha, revealed that he wished to keep Venerable Punna at fore for the latter’s teaching on seven varieties of Visuddhimagga. Moreover, the most outstanding disciple kept his head with the direction of his teacher, Venerable Assaji, throughout his life so that he could attain enlightenment based on the teaching of Venerable Assaji in accord with the guidance of the Lord Buddha. It showed an example of paying respect and reverence to the teachers.
King Mindon, once he became king, paid a debt of gratitude to Sankyaung Sayadaw, a teacher in King Mindon’s early childhood. As Myanmar kings in the monarchical era acknowledged the attributes and gratitude of members of the Samgha who taught them, they donated grand monasteries. They offered religious titles to their teacher members of the Samgha as part of paying debts of gratitude.
Ceremonies to pay respect to teachers take place at schools and universities across Myanmar as an act of unforgettably paying respect to teachers and honouring their attributes. These are Myanmar’s proud cultural heritage.
It is auspicious to pay a debt of gratitude to benefactors. Myanmar society honours the Lord Buddha, the Dhamma, the Samgha, parents and teachers as the noblest benefactors. Parents and teachers play a crucial role in nurturing a new generation of students who will shoulder the State’s duties to have arts and science knowledge and to become well-versed in morale, discipline and morals. As students are immature, parents and teachers need to shape them carefully to have a brighter future.
Parents teach and advise their offspring to accumulate the necessary knowledge and techniques on how to talk and act before attending school. At a time when children join school from the control of their parents, teachers open their hearts to all students and give a helping hand to all with compassion and affection regardless of the poor and the rich. Parents, being early teachers for their children, are the first to nurture the qualifications and personalities of their children. Teachers guide students with genuine goodwill to have success without derailment from their lives.
Teachers who possess the seven qualities of an ideal teacher – namely, being honoured, respected, praiseworthy, guiding students in the right direction, explaining patiently, and leading students towards success – are worthy of respect. Those teachers teach their pupils by upholding goodwill, passion, and sacrifice, which are aligned with the five obligations of teachers: teaching, guiding, not leaving any knowledge, protecting students from dangers, and sending them to proper learning centres. Hence, those teachers in three types of activities, observing, listening, and teaching, can be defined as educators or teachers, whereas those who nurture pupils can be dubbed mentors. The noble prestige and attributes of those benefactor teachers are incomparable.
Teachers are giving guidelines to students to know what is right and what is wrong and comprehensively understand cause and effect to be able to escape from the unknowledgeable life and not fall into the naughty life. As such, teachers are dubbed as leaders of society as they are able to forge amity among humans, shape the lives of students and the world, and ease frets.
Teachers must not only teach their students academically but also help shape their characters. Teachers need to guide their students to forge consideration over all humans. They have to advise students to stimulate their philanthropic spirit rather than their selfishness. Teachers need to guide pupils in their minds to culture the Myanmar spirit in order to pay respect to the elders, honour their peers, and show compassion to the youngsters. Moreover, it is necessary to nurture students to have attitudes towards serving the national duty: To foster the Union spirit, to elevate national prestige and integrity, to cultivate patriotism, and to preserve Myanmar’s traditional cultural heritage.
Teachers have to serve their primary duty in order to achieve success in the implementation of the new physically, mentally and mentally comprehensive education system in a short time. Moreover, teachers are crucial in turning qualified, outstanding human resources for the State. As such, teachers are in the strata of giving training to all generations of society to become outstanding ones. Those teachers train human generations to be sharpened while uplifting the organization and forging peace. In the knowledge age with ongoing advancements, teachers have always to learn and accumulate modern technologies and knowledge to promote the education standard of citizens and to keep abreast of other countries.
Teachers need to improve their qualifications by applying libraries and modern technologies that are aligned with the changing world as they are always learners throughout their lifespans. They should also guide their pupils to embrace lifelong learning by encouraging them to read, even after completing their formal education.
Teachers need to share knowledge with and show the correct ways of life to pupils to broaden their horizons as well as nurture them to have attitudes toward following disciplines. Everybody needs to know and abide by laws in order to build a modern, developed, stable and peaceful State. Law subjects are being taught to students at universities to gain legal knowledge, whereas basic knowledge about legal affairs needs to be taught to students in grades 11 and 12.
As the future life of students depends on the qualification and goodwill of a teacher, those teachers need to continually cultivate and maintain their knowledge, goodwill, and moral integrity. That is in line with the saying: pupils must be of higher qualifications than teachers, and they must take an important role. Teachers need to nurture students to have attitudes of abiding by discipline, doing all things on time, and being loyal to the State.
Currently, our country is being built as a modern and developed Union based on democracy and federalism. Hence, it is necessary to strengthen human resources by endowing them with knowledge and techniques, expertise, personal qualities, and capacity. Teachers have to standardize themselves, and I would like to urge those teachers and students to become good and able citizens of the future State with five strengths: responsibilities and accountability, morals, discipline, and knowledge to serve the interests of the State.
I would like to urge those teachers to guide their students to become responsible and capable citizens of the future, equipped with five strengths: accountability, moral integrity, discipline, knowledge, and a commitment to serving the interests of the State.
As teachers are teaching students to become intellectuals and intelligentsia, additional allowances have been issued to teachers since October 2021, depending on their educational qualifications, in order to sustain their prestige. Moreover, teachers are provided with costs of uniforms and rental charges for housing as well as staff housing facilities.
The theme of the World Teachers’ Day 2024 was set as the Valuing Teachers’ Voices. On the occasion when World Teachers’ Day falls, I sincerely urge all to make collaborative efforts to focus on resolving the difficulties and challenges teachers encounter and teachers to completely grasp relevant professions in order to turn out knowledgeable human resources with five strengths of capabilities for their lives and the State.
May all teachers have physical and mental well-being.
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