National Teachers’ Awards 2024: Celebrating Excellence in Education [Current Affairs]

On September 5, 2024, India celebrated Teachers’ Day with a prestigious ceremony in New Delhi, where President Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Teachers’ Award 2024 to 82 exceptional educators from across the country. This annual event, commemorating the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, recognizes the pivotal role of teachers in shaping the nation’s future.

The Essence of Teaching: Beyond Academics

In her address, President Murmu emphasized that the role of teachers extends far beyond imparting knowledge. She stated that educators bear the responsibility of nurturing well-rounded citizens who are not only educated but also sensitive, honest, and enterprising. The President highlighted that true success lies not just in personal achievement but in working for the welfare of others, underscoring the importance of instilling values such as compassion and ethical conduct in students.

Identifying and Nurturing Diverse Talents

President Murmu called upon teachers to recognize and cultivate the unique talents of each student. She pointed out that excellence is not limited to academic performance alone and urged educators to pay attention to students who excel in areas such as sports, leadership, and social welfare activities. This holistic approach to education, she emphasized, is crucial for the comprehensive development of young minds.

Empowering Women Through Education

The President stressed the significance of women’s status as a key indicator of societal development. She called on teachers and parents to educate children in a manner that fosters respect for women, not just in words but also in practice. This emphasis on gender equality in education is seen as a vital step towards building a more inclusive and progressive society.

Continuous Learning for Educators

Quoting Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, President Murmu highlighted the importance of teachers’ continuous acquisition of knowledge. She expressed confidence that educators would maintain their commitment to lifelong learning, ensuring that their teaching remains relevant and engaging for students.

Building a Developed India

The President emphasized the crucial role of teachers in shaping the generation that will create a developed India. She advised educators to cultivate a global mindset and world-class skills in their students, asserting that only teachers with a developed outlook can nurture citizens capable of building a developed nation.

The National Teachers’ Award: Recognizing Excellence

The National Teachers’ Award is a prestigious recognition that celebrates the unique contributions of educators across India. Each awardee receives:

• A certificate of merit
• A cash award of Rs. 50,000
• A silver medal

Selection Process and Diversity of Awardees

The Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, selected 50 teachers through a rigorous, transparent, and online three-stage selection process at the district, state, and national levels. The awardees represent:

• 28 States
• 3 Union Territories
• 6 Organizations

Among the 50 selected teachers:

• 34 are male
• 16 are female
• 2 are differently-abled
• 1 works with Children with Special Needs (CWSN)

Additionally, 16 teachers from the Department of Higher Education and 16 from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship were also honored.

New Categories in Higher Education

In line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes the importance of motivated and capable faculty, two new categories of awards were instituted in 2023 for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Polytechnics. This expansion recognizes excellence across the entire spectrum of education in India.

Table of Awardees

Dept. of School Education & Literacy Awardees:

Sl. No.	Name of the Awardee	Designation	School Name & Address	State / UT of Org
1	Avinasha Sharma	Lecturer	GMSSSS NIT 3 Faridabad	Haryana
2	Sunil Kumar	Lecturer	GSSS Khargat	Himachal Pradesh
3	Pankaj Kumar Goyal	Teacher	GSSS Girls Barnala	Punjab
4	Rajinder Singh	Teacher	Govt. Primary School, Kothe Inder Singh Wale	Punjab
5	Baljinder Singh Brar	Vice Principal	Government Senior Secondary School 4JJ	Rajasthan
6	Hukam Chand Chaudhary	Teacher	Government Senior Secondary School BSF Bikaner	Rajasthan
7	Kusum Lata Gariya	Acting Head Teacher	Government Upper Primary School Veena	Uttarakhand
8	Chandralekha Damodar Mestri	Teacher	Satyawati Soiru Angle Higher Secondary School, Mashem Loliem	Goa
9	Chandreshkumar Bholashankar Borisagar	Acting Head Teacher	Navi Badhada Primary School, Badhada	Gujarat
10	Vinay Shashikant Patel	Principal	R.F. Patel High School, Vadadla	Gujarat
11	Madhav Prasad Patel	Teacher	Govt. Middle School Lidhora	Madhya Pradesh
12	Sunita Godha	Teacher	Govt. High School, Khajuria Sarang	Madhya Pradesh
13	K Sharda	Teacher	Govt. Upper Primary School Khedamara	Chhattisgarh
14	Narasimha Murthy H K	Teacher	Daffodils English School, Sanjaynagar-19	Karnataka
15	Dwiti Chandra Sahu	Teacher	Govt. High School Billesu	Odisha
16	Santosh Kumar Kar	Teacher	Jaya Durga High School, Narla Road	Odisha
17	Ashis Kumar Roy	Teacher	Sri Nara Singha Vidyapith, Atharakhai	West Bengal
18	Prasanta Kumar Marik	Head Teacher	Shalbagan G S F P School, 1 No. Gurdaha	West Bengal
19	Dr Urfana Amin	Master	BHSS Soura	Jammu and Kashmir
20	Ravi Kant Dwivedi	Head Teacher	Primary School Bhagesar	Uttar Pradesh
21	Shyam Prakash Maurya	Teacher	Upper Primary School Malhupur	Uttar Pradesh
22	Dr. Minakshi Kumari	Teacher	Shiv Ganga Girls Plus 2 High School Madhubani	Bihar
23	Sikendra Kumar Suman	Acting Head Teacher	New Primary School Tarahani	Bihar
24	K Suma	Teacher	GMS Dugnadab	A & N Islands
25	Sunita Gupta	Lecturer	Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Dhamangawn	Madhya Pradesh
26	Charu Sharma	Principal	Dr Rajendra Prasad Kendriya Vidyalaya, New Delhi	Delhi
27	Ashok Sengupta	Teacher	PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1 Jalahalli West, Kamagondannahalli	Karnataka
28	H N Girish	Lecturer	Government PU College for Girls NN0045 Hunsur, Mysuru	Karnataka
29	Narayanaswamy R	Head Teacher	Government High School Bashettihalli	Karnataka
30	Jyoti Panka	Teacher	PM SHRI Government Higher Secondary School Longding	Arunachal Pradesh
31	Lephizo Apon	Teacher	GHSS Dimapur, United Colony Ward-20	Nagaland
32	Nandita Chongtham	Teacher	Sagolband Rishikul Upper Primary School, Sagolband	Manipur
33	Yankila Lama	Teacher	Modern Senior Secondary School, Arithang	Sikkim
34	Joseph Vanlalhruaia Sailo	Lecturer	Synod Higher Secondary School, Tuithiang Veng Aizawl	Mizoram
35	Everlasting Pyngrope	Principal	Myngken Christian Higher Secondary School, Bhoirymbong	Meghalaya
36	Dr Nani Gopal Debnath	Teacher	Netaji Subhas Vidyaniketan, Netaji Choumuhani	Tripura
37	Dipen Khanikar	Teacher	Chi Chia Bokuloni Girls High School, No3	Assam
38	Dr Asha Rani	Post Graduate Teacher	Plus 2 High School Chandankiyari, Bokaro	Jharkhand
39	Jinu George	Teacher	S.D.V.B.H.S.S, Alappuzha	Kerala
40	K Sivaprasad	Teacher	VPAUPS Kundur kunnu, Thachanattukara	Kerala
41	Midde Srinivasa Rao	Teacher	S.P.S Municipal High School Plus, Gudivada	Andhra Pradesh
42	Suresh Kunati	Teacher	ZP High School Urandur	Andhra Pradesh
43	Prabhakar Reddy Pesara	Teacher	ZPSS Thirumalayapalem	Telangana
44	Thaduri Sampath Kumar	Teacher	ZPHS Dammannapet	Telangana
45	Pallavi Sharma	Principal	Mamta Modern Sr. Sec. School, Vikaspuri	Delhi
46	Charu Maini	Principal	DAV Public School Sector 48-49, Gurugram	Haryana
47	Gopinath R	Teacher	Panchayat Union Middle School – Rajakuppam	Tamil Nadu
48	Muralidharan Ramiya Sethuraman	Vocational Teacher	TVS Higher Secondary School, Madurai	Tamil Nadu
49	Mantaiah Chinni Bedke	Teacher	Z.P. Upper Primary Digital School Jajavandi	Maharashtra
50	Sagar Chittaranjan Bagade	Teacher	Sou S.M. Lohia High School & Junior College, Kolhapur	Maharashtra

Dept. of Higher Education Awardees:

Sl. No.	Name of the Awardee	Designation	Name & Address of the Institute	State / UT of Org
1	Prof. Anitha Suseelan	Head	School of Architecture at Christ University, Bangalore	Karnataka
2	Prof. Birinchi Kumar Sarma	Professor	Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi	Uttar Pradesh
3	Dr. C. Jaya Sankar Babu	Associate Professor	Department of Hindi, Puducherry University	Puducherry
4	Dr. A. Gandhimathi	Lecturer	Department of English, Polytechnic College, Salem	Tamil Nadu
5	Prof. Kapil Ahuja	Professor	Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Indore	Madhya Pradesh
6	Prof. S.R. Keshava	Professor	Department of Economics, Bangalore University	Karnataka
7	Dr. Nandavaram Mrudula Babu	Associate Professor & Head	Department of Telugu, Govt. Degree College for Women, Hyderabad	Telangana
8	Prof. Nidhi Jain	Professor	Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi	New Delhi
9	Prof. Nilabh Tiwari	Head	Department of Education, Central Sanskrit University	New Delhi
10	Prof. Parmar Ranjitkumar Khimjibhai	Head	Department of Electrical Engineering, Government Polytechnic, Junagadh	Gujarat
11	Prof. Shahanaz Ayub	Associate Professor	Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Bundelkhand Institute of Engineering, Jhansi	Uttar Pradesh
12	Prof. Shilpagauri Prasad	Associate Professor	Department of English, PDEA’s Prof. Ramkrishna More Arts, Commerce and Science College, Pune	Maharashtra
13	Dr. Shimi S.L.	Associate Professor	Electrical Engineering Department, Punjab Engineering College	Chandigarh
14	Prof. A.S. Smiline Girija	Head	Department of Microbiology, Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals, SIMATS, Saveetha University, Chennai	Tamil Nadu
15	Prof. Srinivas Hotha	Professor	Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune	Maharashtra
16	Prof. Vinay Sharma	Professor	Department of Management Studies & Joint Professor with the Department of Design, IIT Roorkee	Uttarakhand

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Awardees:

Sl. No.	Name of the Awardee	Name & Address of the Institute	State / UT of Org
1	Smt. Kadia Darshanaben Jishneshkumar	ITI, Dashrath	Gujarat
2	Shri Radhakrishnan PK	Govt. ITI, Kozhikode	Kerala
3	Shri Muhammad Akbar M	Govt. ITI, Koyilandy	Kerala
4	Shri Prashant Dixit	Govt. Divisional ITI, Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh
5	Shri Tinku	Govt. ITI, Pusa	New Delhi
6	Shri Vivek Chandaliya	Govt. ITI, Kolhapur	Maharashtra
7	Ms. Natasha Oreste Carvalho	Govt. ITI, Mapusa	Goa
8	Smt. Premlata Rahangdale	Govt. Divisional ITI, Bhopal	Madhya Pradesh
9	Shri Shivalingaiah K.J.	Govt. ITI, Mysuru	Karnataka
10	Shri Utpal Saikia	North East Skill Centre, Guwahati	Assam
11	Shri Vijay Ganapati Chari	Govt. ITI, Cacora	Goa
12	Ms. Sarita Devi	Govt. ITI, Shamshi	Himachal Pradesh
13	Shri Jitendra Jangir	NSTI, Patna	Bihar
14	Smt. B Pauvlin Priya	NSTI, Chennai	Tamil Nadu
15	Dr. Jyoti Jain	MSME, Firozabad	Uttar Pradesh
16	Smt. Vanamala Swapna	National Institute for MSME, Hyderabad	Telangana