44 finest teachers get national awards

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind conferred National awards to 44 teachers across the country via a virtual ceremony held on Sunday on the occasion of Teachers' Day. The awards were given to meritorious teachers for their distinguished contribution to the field of education. Two teachers were selected from each state and this also included nine women teachers.

"The primary responsibility of combining the inherent talents of the students lies with the teachers; a good teacher is a personality-builder, a society-builder, and a nation-builder," the President said while conferring the awards. He added that teachers strengthen his belief that the future generation is safe in the hands of our well-qualified teachers. In the last one and a half years, the whole world is going through a pandemic crisis, and "in this situation, even when all the schools and colleges were closed, teachers did not allow the education of the children to stop.

For this, the teachers learned to use digital platforms in a very short time and continued the education process," he said. "It is the duty of teachers to inculcate interest in studies in their students. Sensitive teachers can shape the future of students by their behaviour, conduct and teaching," he said.

The President also highlighted that the Education Ministry has started an integrated teachers' training programme called 'Nishtha' under which efforts are being made for 'Online Capacity Building' for teachers. Earlier in the morning, the President paid homage to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, former President of India on his birth anniversary. "Dr Radhakrishnan was world-renowned as a philosopher and scholar. Although he held many high positions, he wanted him to be remembered only as a teacher. Dr Radhakrishnan has left his indelible mark as a great teacher," Kovind said.