Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacted with school students and praised teachers, saying that teaching is beyond other professions.
Addressing students and teachers at an event at Manekshaw Auditorium on the eve of Teacher's Day, Modi said former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said he always wanted to be remembered as a teacher - and had died while delivering a lecture to students.
Modi, who was accompanied on stage by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani, also released a commemorative coin in honour of former president Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, whose birthday is marked as Teacher's Day.
"Being a teacher is not like any other career. It is something different. I bow to all the teachers," he said a day ahead of the Teachers' Day.
He said "a teacher can never retire" and they have a great responsibility towards shaping the future of children.
The prime minister said: "Leadership quality is essential. You must also be clear why you want to be a leader - to fight elections only or to make a difference."
At the event, which also saw Modi launch the website for Kala Utsav to promote art in education, students of different schools presented songs.
He said children should love and respect their teachers and the latter in turn should love the children, which would help to spread learning and on how to live life.
Citing an example of the involvement of a teacher with her students, he said an anganwadi teacher would make little handkerchiefs out of her old saris and teach her students how to use it, and thereby taught them personal hygiene.
"Teaching is not like other professions - is beyond that, it is plus one," he said.
He said if a doctor does an important surgery, he is praised, but a teacher who can create 100 doctors is not remembered.
"Today it is the time to remember the teachers," he said, adding that for all the good scientists and academicians in the world there is a teacher who has played an important role.
"We must strive to bring life back to the teaching profession and increase the respect and regard it deserves."
