The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu conferred National Awards on teachers from across the country at a function held in New Delhi on September 5, 2024 on the occasion of Teachers’ Day. The President conferred the National Teachers’ Award 2024 to 82 selected Awardees.
Addressing the gathering, the President said that teachers have to prepare such citizens who are not only educated but also sensitive, honest and enterprising. She stated that moving ahead in life is success, but the meaning of life lies in working for the welfare of others. We should have compassion. Our conduct should be ethical. A successful life lies in the meaningful life. Teaching these values to the students is the duty of teachers.
The President said that teachers play the most important role in success of any education system. Teaching is not just a job. It is a sacred mission of human development. If a child is not able to perform well, then the education system and teachers have a bigger responsibility. She pointed out that often teachers pay special attention only to those students who perform well in exams. However excellent academic performance is only one dimension of excellence. A child may be a very good sportsperson; some child might have leadership skills; another child enthusiastically participates in social welfare activities. The teacher has to identify the natural talent of each child and bring it out.
The President said that the status of women in any society is an important criterion for its development. She stated that it is the responsibility of teachers and parents to educate children in such a way that they always behave in accordance with the dignity of women. She emphasised that the respect for women should not be only in ‘words’ but also in ‘practice’.
The President said that according to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, if a teacher himself does not continuously acquire knowledge then he/she cannot teach in true sense. She expressed confidence that all the teachers will continue the process of acquiring knowledge. She said that by doing this, their teaching will remain more relevant and interesting.
The President told teachers that the generation of their students will create a developed India. She advised teachers and students to have a global mindset and world-class skills. She stated that great teachers build a great nation. Only teachers with a developed mindset can create citizens who will build a developed nation. She expressed confidence that by inspiring students, our teachers will make India the knowledge hub of the world.
Every year, India celebrates 5th September, the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, as National Teachers’ Day. The purpose of the National Teachers’ Award is to celebrate the unique contribution of teachers in the country and to honour those teachers who, through their commitment and dedication, have not only improved the quality of education but also enriched the lives of their students. Each award carries a certificate of merit, a cash award of Rs. 50,000 and a silver medal.
The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, has selected 50 teachers for this year’s National Teachers’ Awards. They have been selected through a rigorous transparent and online three stage i.e., District, State and National level selection process by the Department of School Education and Literacy. The 50 selected teachers are from 28 States, 3 UTs and 6 Organizations. Out of 50 selected teachers, 34 are males, 16 are female, 2 are differently abled and 1 working with CWSN. In addition, 16 teachers from the Department of Higher Education and 16 teachers from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship were also awarded.
NEP 2020 recognizes that motivated, energized and capable faculty is critical for the advancement of the students, institution and profession. It also envisages incentives such as rewards and recognition to cultivate a culture of excellence in the education ecosystem. As such, in the year 2023, it was decided to institute two categories of awards for HEIs and Polytechnics under the umbrella of NAT, hitherto restricted to School teachers only. The 16 select teachers are from Polytechnics, State Universities and Central Higher Education Institutions.
Below is the list of Awardees from the Dept. of School Education & Literacy:
- Avinasha Sharma, Lecturer, Gmssss Nit 3 Faridabad
- Sunil Kumar, Lecturer, Gsss Khargat
- Pankaj Kumar Goyal, Teacher, Gsss Girls Barnala
- Rajinder Singh, Teacher, Government Primary School, Kothe Inder Singh Wale, Punjab
- Baljinder Singh Brar, Vice Principal, Government Senior Secondary School 4JJ
- Hukam Chand Chaudhary, Teacher, Government Senior Secondary School Bsf Bikaner
- Kusum Lata Gariya, Acting Head Teacher, Government Upper Primary School Veena, Uttarakhand
- Sunita Godha, Teacher, Govt. High School, Khajuria Sarang, Madhya Pradesh
- K Sharda, Teacher, Govt Upper Primary School Khedamara, Chhattisgarh
- Narasimha Murthy H K, Teacher, Daffodils English School, Sanjaynagar-19, Karnataka
- Dwiti Chandra Sahu, Teacher, Govt High School Billesu, Odisha
- Santosh Kumar Kar, Teacher, Jaya Durga High School, Narla Road, Odisha
- Ashis Kumar Roy, Teacher, Sri Nara Singha Vidyapith, Atharakhai, West Bengal
- Prasanta Kumar Marik, Head Teacher, Shalbagan G S F P School, 1 No. Gurdaha, West Bengal
- Dr Urfana Amin, Master, Bhss Soura, Jammu And Kashmir
- Ravi Kant Dwivedi, Head Teacher, Primary School Bhagesar, Uttar Pradesh
- Shyam Prakash Maurya, Teacher, Upper Primary School Malhupur, Uttar Pradesh
- Dr. Minakshi Kumari, Teacher, Shiv Ganga Girls Plus 2 High School Madhubani, Bihar
- Sikendra Kumar Suman, Acting Head Teacher, New Primary School Tarahani, Bihar
- K Suma, Teacher, Gms Dugnabad, A And N Islands
- Sunita Gupta, Lecturer, Jawahar Navodayvidyalaya, Dhamangawn, Madhya Pradesh
- Charu Sharma, Principal, Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, New Delhi
- Ashok Sengupta, Teacher, Pm Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 Jalahalli West, Kamagondannahalli, Karnataka
- H N Girish, Lecturer, Government Pu College For Girls Nn0045 Hunsur Mysuru 571105, Karnataka
- Narayanaswamy R, Head Teacher, Government High School Bashettihalli, Karnataka
- Jyoti Panka, Teacher, Pm Shri Government Higher Secondary School Longding, Arunachal Pradesh
- Lephizo Apon, Teacher, Ghss Dimapur, United Colony Ward-20, Nagaland
- Nandita Chongtham, Teacher, Sagolband Rishikul Upper Primary School, Sagolband, Manipur
- Yankila Lama, Teacher, Modern Senior Secondary School, Arithang, Sikkim
- Joseph Vanlalhruaia Sailo, Lecturer, Synod Higher Secondary School, Tuithiang Veng Aizawl, Mizoram
- Everlasting Pyngrope, Principal, Myngken Christian Higher Secondary School, Bhoirymbong, Meghalaya
- Dr. Nani Gopal Debnath, Teacher, Netaji Subhas Vidyaniketan, Netaji Choumuhani, Tripura
- Dipen Khanikar, Teacher, Chi Chia Bokuloni Girls High School, No3, Assam
- Dr. Asha Rani, Post Graduate Teacher, Plus 2 High School Chandankiyari Bokaro, Jharkhand
- Jinu George, Teacher, S.D.V.B.H.S.S, Alappuzha, Kerala
- K Sivaprasad, Teacher, Vpaups Kundurkunnu, Thachanattukara, Kerala
- Midde Srinivasa Rao, Teacher, S.P.S.Municipal High School Plus, Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh
- Suresh Kunati, Teacher, Zp High School Urandur, Andhra Pradesh
- Prabhakar Reddy Pesara, Teacher, Zpss Thirumalayapalem, Telangana
- Thaduri Sampath Kumar, Teacher, Zphs Dammannapet, Telangana
- Pallavi Sharma, Principal, Mamta Modern Sr. Sec. School, Vikaspuri, Delhi
- Charu Maini, Principal, Dav Public School Sector 48-49, Gurugram, Haryana
- Gopinath R, Teacher, Panchayat Union Middle School – Rajakuppam, Tamil Nadu
- Muralidharan Ramiya Sethuraman, Vocational Teacher, Tvs Higher Secondary School, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
- Mantaiah Chinni Bedke, Teacher, Z.P.Upeer Primzry Digital School Jajavandi, Maharashtra
- Sagar Chittaranjan Bagade, Teacher, Sou S. M. Lohia Highschool And Junior College Kolhapur, Maharashtra
The Awardees from the Dept. of Higher education are:
- Prof. Anitha Suseelan, Head, School of Architecture at Christ University, Bangalore
- Prof. Birinchi Kumar Sarma, Professor, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi
- Dr. C. Jaya Sankar Babu, Associate Professor, Department of Hindi, Puducherry University, Puducherry
- Dr. A. Gandhimathi, Lecturer, Department of English, Polytechnic College, Salem, Tamil Nadu
- Prof. Kapil Ahuja, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Indore, Madhya Pradesh
- Prof. S.R. Keshava, Professor, Department of Economics, Bangalore University
- Dr. Nandavaram Mrudula Babu, Associate Professor & Head, Department of Telugu, Govt. Degree College for Women, Hyderabad, Telangana
- Prof. Nidhi Jain, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
- Prof. Nilabh Tiwari, Head, Department of Education, Central Sanskrit University, New Delhi
- Prof. Parmar Ranjitkumar Khimjibhai, Head, Department of Electrical Engineering, Government Polytechnic, Junagadh, Gujarat
- Prof. Shahanaz Ayub, Associate Professor, Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering & Technology, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh
- Prof. Shilpagauri Prasad, Associate Professor, Department of English, Pune District Education Association’s Prof. Ramkrishna More Arts, Commerce and Science College, Pune
- Dr. Shimi S.L., Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh
- Prof. A.S. Smiline Girija, Head, Department of Microbiology, Centre for Infectious Diseases, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Saveetha University, Chennai
- Prof. Srinivas Hotha, Professor, Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, Maharashtra
- Prof. Vinay Sharma, Professor, Department of Management Studies & Joint Professor with the Department of Design, IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand