Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi returned to his former vocation of teaching, albeit for a short duration.

On Monday Joshi addressed a group of students at the newly inaugurated college at Dharavi in northeast Mumbai.

Dressed in crisp cotton apparel, the former teacher greeted the 20 odd first year Bachelor of Commerce students of Manohar Joshi College with a cheery, "Good morning to all of you and do take your seats."

The college, which is the first its kind in Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum, was inaugurated by the Shiv Sena executive president, Uddhav Thackeray.

Speaking to the students Joshi expressed the hope the college would bring about a marked difference in the educational status of the slum area. He added the college planned to run degree courses in Arts and Science stream next year.

Plans were also afoot to start a course on Information Technology, the former Maharashtra chief minister said.

Known for his witty remarks, the Lok Sabha Speaker jocularly informed the students that they would not have to worry about passing their exams. "Anything that is inaugurated by Uddhav has always known to have turned into a successful enterprise," he said.

A beaming Uddhav also wished the students luck, while urging them to focus on their studies.