A teacher is a friend, philosopher, and guide who holds our hand, opens our mind, and touches our heart. The contribution of a teacher cannot be ignored at all. In many countries across the world, teacher’s day is a special day where teachers of schools, colleges, and universities are honoured. The date varies from country to country.
The universally accepted World Teacher’s Day is October 5. In India, the Teacher’s Day is celebrated on September 5 – the birthday of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. This tradition started from 1962. Dr Radhakrishnan was a philosopher, scholar, teacher, and politician and his work towards education made his birthday an important day in the history of India.
Actually, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was a friendly teacher and he was popular among his students for the example he always set in front of them. Dr Radhakrishnan served as a professor at prestigious institutions like the University of Calcutta and Oxford University. He was also a prolific writer and promoted intercultural understanding through his lectures across the US and Europe.
When Dr Radhakrishnan became the President of India in 1962, he was visited by a few students with a request to celebrate his birthday on September 5. However, he suggested that the students dedicate the day to teachers. And since then this day, September 5, is celebrated as Teacher’s Day in India.
World Teacher’s Day is celebrated on October 5 and it started from 1994. It was UNESCO who started this tradition. The focus set by UNESCO was to celebrate the engrossment and accomplishment of teachers and also the primacies that they put on the field of education. Why is October 5 celebrated as the Teacher’s Day? On this day in the year 1966, a special intergovernmental conference adopted the UNESCO endorsement regarding the statuses of teachers.
