Stay off social media and focus on careers – that’s what Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi asked students on Saturday as he addressed a Teachers’ Day event at a local government school.

Interacting with students of Secondary Board High School, Cuttack, on Teachers’ Day, Majhi said students should focus on building their careers.

“As students, your first responsibility is to study well, acquire skills and contribute to your own and the country’s development. This is the basic objective of our education system. Therefore, stay away from any other activities or issues that could create obstacles in building careers,” Majhi urged the students.

Through his speech, the chief minister appeared to be attempting to connect with young students. It came at a time when school students and youth across India have launched widespread protests demanding sweeping education reforms, basic school infrastructure and accountability from authorities.

“Education is not merely about acquiring knowledge. It’s a process of shaping human beings,” Majhi said.

The chief minister said the relationship between students and teachers needed to be friendlier.

Majhi also underlined his government’s ‘KG to PG free education’ initiative on the occasion, claiming Odisha could be the first state to implement such a scheme. He also spoke about other government initiatives aimed at developing school infrastructure and ensuring quality education in the state.

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Addressing the large-scale vacancies of teachers in the state, Majhi announced that his government plans to appoint 45,000 teachers in the coming days.

Meanwhile, hundreds of teachers in Odisha continued their protest at Mahatma Gandhi Marg in the state capital over their eight-point demands, with the agitation entering its 21st day on Saturday. Their demands include Grant-in-Aid (GIA), service conditions and pension facilities, increasing the retirement age to 62, rectifying anomalies in the grade pay system and bringing them under the 7th Pay Commission scale.

“Even though our protest entered its 21st day, none from the state government reached out to hold discussions with us. On Teachers’ Day, teachers across India are revered, but it’s unfortunate that we are on the streets today,” said a protesting teacher.

The Odisha government has also cancelled the Mukhyamantri Sikshya Puraskar (CM’s education award) programme scheduled for Saturday without citing any reasons.