46 educators were conferred the National Teachers’ Award 2019 by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Vigyan Bhawan on the occasion of Teacher’s Day, 5 September. Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Union Minister of State Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre were also present at the occasion. 

Teachers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Sikkim, Delhi, Rajasthan Goa and Jharkhand received the prestigious awards. This was also the first time a teacher from an army school, which is governed by the Defence Ministry, has been included in the list of awardees.

Awarded for their making their classes interesting, interactive and innovative, the educators went home with a silver medal, certificate and Rs 50,000 as award money. The national level awards are given to teachers to celebrate their contribution as among the finest teachers in the country and to honour their improved quality of education.

President Kovind presents National Awards to meritorious teachers on the occasion of Teachers’ Day; says the main objective of education is to make the student a good human being. And teachers do so by instilling honesty, discipline and integrity in their students. pic.twitter.com/oou511QrJF

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 5, 2019

Earlier, the HRD ministry had invited nominations for the prestigious awards between May 6 and June 25, following which teachers were selected on the basis of a three step process. After having nominated themselves online, they were selected by their district, state, and national level committees. The nominated teachers were asked to give a presentation before the independent jury comprising of a senior educationist. The selection was done based on an objective criteria and based on performance. 

Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ also interacted with the teachers and encouraged them to play a pivotal role in the holistic development of the children. He further said that the selection procedure for the National Teacher’s Award is equivalent to the selection procedure followed for the Padma Awards. He also asked the teachers to help the ministry in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also interacted with the winners of the National Teacher’s Award before heading for Russia. During his conversation, he stressed on the use of technology as a teaching aid and to enable students to come with solutions for day to day problems faced by the nation.

Source: India Today