President of India Presented the National Awards to Teachers on Teacher’s Day

The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Awards to teachers from across the country at a function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on 5 September 2013. The awards were given away on the occasion of the Teacher’s Day.

The National Awards were given to 336 teachers for their meritorious performance. The President explained that the goal of today’s education in India should be All for Knowledge and Knowledge for All. The Human Resource Development Minister Dr. M.M. Pallam Raju, on the occasion explained that the Union Government of India planned to initiate the National Mission on Teachers and Teaching. The National Mission on Teachers and Teaching would pursue the long term goal of building a strong professional cadre of teachers by setting performance standards and creating top class institutional facilities for innovative training and professional development of teachers.

There were 177 primary teachers and 140 secondary teachers among the awardees. 6 Sanskrit teachers and 4 Madarsa teachers were also honored on the occasion. The scheme of the National Awards to teachers was introduced in 1958 with the objective of enhancing the prestige of teachers and giving public recognition to teachers of outstanding merit. Each award constitutes a certificate of merit, a silver medal and a cash prize of 25000 Rupees.