Bhubaneswar: Education plays a central role in shaping the future of individuals, society, and the nation, stated Odisha Governor Dr. Hari Babu Kambhampati while inaugurating the National Conclave 2026 at IIT Bhubaneswar today.
The two-day event, organized by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in collaboration with IIT Bhubaneswar, focuses on capacity building of stakeholders for the nationwide rollout of the National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and the National Mission for Mentoring (NMM), in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The conclave brings together educators, administrators, policymakers, and representatives from school education departments across 12 eastern states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, and West Bengal. Participants include directors of SCERTs, DIET principals, state nodal officers, and heads and teachers from Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, CBSE, and state board schools.
The Governor highlighted this diverse participation as a reflection of India’s educational diversity and unity.In his address, Dr. Kambhampati described teachers as architects of students’ mindsets, curiosity, and sense of responsibility, thereby building the nation’s future. He invoked India’s ancient guru-shishya tradition, which emphasizes knowledge, values, and character formation.
Noting the rapid global changes driven by technology, artificial intelligence, digital connectivity, and globalization, he stressed the need for education systems to adapt accordingly. Students must be prepared not just for examinations but for creativity, entrepreneurship, and global challenges.
The Governor praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership in launching NEP 2020 as a forward-looking roadmap to modernize India’s education system for the 21st century. He commended Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s leadership in translating these reforms into action. While over five years have passed since NEP 2020’s introduction, true transformation requires empowering teachers with necessary skills, standards, and professional support—not merely policy documents.
Dr. Kambhampati underscored NPST and NMM as key initiatives under NEP 2020, placing teacher development, professionalism, and lifelong learning at the core of national change. NPST, led by NCTE, provides teachers with a clear professional identity, outlining expectations, competencies, values, and career progression paths. NMM aims to create a large pool of excellent mentors—regardless of age or position—to support school teachers, strengthen the teaching community, and advance India’s 21st-century development goals.
Such conclaves, he said, serve as vital platforms to bridge policy with practice, enabling hands-on orientation, information sharing, capacity building, and demonstration of digital platforms for NPST and NMM.The event reinforces the vision of “Samart Shikshak, Sashakt Bharat” (Capable Teachers, Empowered India), promoting inclusive, innovative, and future-ready education across the country.
