Teachers’ Day: 75 Teachers Awarded The National Award. Find All Details Here

Every year India celebrates Teachers Day on September 5 in honor of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India. 

September 5 is the birth anniversary of Dr Radhakrishnan. In 1962, his students approached him to celebrate his birthday. He, however, requested to celebrate the day as Teachers’ Day - honoring teachers and their contributions to society. 

President Droupadi Murmu paid floral tributes to Dr S. Radhakrishnan, former President of India, on his birth anniversary at Rashtrapati Bhavan. pic.twitter.com/UK1YOkQMTq

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 5, 2023

However, even before India celebrated Teachers’ Day on September 5, it recognized and valued teachers and their contributions through the National Awards to Teachers. First constituted in 1958, the guidelines for the awards were revised in 2018. 

This year, the President of India will confer the award on 75 teachers. Each recipient will receive a certificate of merit, a cash award of INR 50,000 and a silver medal. 

A memorable evening to celebrate excellence in teaching.

Honoured to host our teachers who will be receiving National Awards from Hon. President of India tomorrow. The dedication and creative approach of these educators towards shaping lives and improving learning outcomes is… pic.twitter.com/uQjKVDDhOH

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 4, 2023

National Awards to Teachers: History

In 1958, the National Awards to Teachers were first instituted to “recognize excellence and commitment of teachers in shaping the minds as well as future of the youth.”

In the mid-60s, it was decided to celebrate the award ceremony on September 5, on account of the birthday of Dr. Radhakrishnan. Since then, every year the award recognizes meritorious teachers working in elementary and secondary schools.

In 2018, the guidelines for the awards were revised to keep up with the advent of technology and make the process fair and transparent. Here are the new guidelines: 

• Provision was made for online self-nominations from teachers. Nominations can be done here. 
• Per the new guidelines, all regular teachers are eligible. No minimum years of service is required. Thus, meritorious young teachers are also eligible to apply.
• No State, UT, or Organization has a quota in the final selection. 
• An Independent Jury makes the final selection from amongst nominations received from States/UTs and Organizations.
• The nominated teachers make a presentation before the Jury for final selection. This ensures that all of them are given an opportunity to share the work done by them.
• 2 teachers can be selected under Special Category from differently-abled teachers etc., if any.

Teacher’s Day: Know The 2023 National Awardees

For 2023, the web portal for online applications was open from June 23, 2023, to July 15, 2023. After the nominees went through the selection process, the list of awardees was finalized by the independent jury on August 14, 2023. The recipients received the award on September 5, 2023. 

On September 4, 2023 PM Modi interacted with the recipients and tweeted about the same, stating “Their dedication to shaping young minds and their unwavering commitment to excellence in education is very inspiring.”

Met our nation's exemplary educators who have been honoured with the National Teachers' Awards. Their dedication to shaping young minds and their unwavering commitment to excellence in education is very inspiring. In their classrooms, they are scripting a brighter future for… pic.twitter.com/49zWk5eA29

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 4, 2023

50 school teachers, 13 teachers from higher education, and 12 teachers from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will receive the award this year, taking the total tally to 75. From the group of 75 teachers, the maximum are from Gujarat (5), followed by Karnataka and Maharashtra (4 each). 

Accompanied our National Awardee teachers on their visit to the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya.

A spectacular archive of India’s collective achievements as a democracy and a lighthouse of knowledge, I am sure the immersive experience will benefit our teachers immensely. pic.twitter.com/RJQZHeWHsI

— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) September 5, 2023

Narayan Parameshwar Bhagwat (55), one of the two teachers from Karnataka selected for the prestigious National Award for this year, is a teacher at the Shri Marikamba Government PUC High School, Sirsi in Uttara Kannada. It has the highest number of students in Karnataka. 

Bhagwat shared with Indian Express that he wanted to make “learning fun and dramatic during the lockdown”. 

“I collated voice notes sent by all Kannada teachers across the state and weaved them into different episodes of online drama. These included some of the lessons in Kannada language expressed in dramatic and artistic form. About 10 episodes were uploaded on YouTube for students to watch and learn,” said Bhagwat

You can find the complete list of 75 awardees here. 

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