KOCHI: Every year six teachers are selected from each state in the country for the prestigious National Teachers Award. The award is awarded by the President on September 5 every year to give public recognition to meritorious teachers working in primary, middle and secondary schools in the country. However, this year, the teachers selected by the state and sent for the presentations, returned home a disgruntled lot. These teachers have sent a representation to the state Education Minister pointing out the discrepancies in the selection procedure.
According to Thomas Antony (name changed), a teacher from Thiruvanchoor, Kottayam, the State Selection Committee had selected six teachers based on the norms framed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). “These teachers along with those from the rest of the country were invited to make a 10-minutes-long presentation before a panel of judges at the NCERT Campus in New Delhi,” he said.
“However, upon reaching the venue, we realised everything was not what it seemed. We had been told 145 teachers had been selected for making presentations, but when we came here, the number increased to 153! And from them, only 45 managed to make it to the list of awardees. MHRD could have notified us about these changes. It was also not mentioned that unlike in the previous years, all those who had been selected by the state committees will not be getting the awards,” said Antony. However, little did the teachers realise more was in store for them.
“We were asked to make a presentation of our achievements in our service spanning 26 years. But, once we started, the jury members didn’t even have the courtesy to at least feign an interest. The entire procedure looked like a farce. Due to frequent power outages, many teachers couldn’t even do a PowerPoint presentation and this worked against them,” said Anil Dev (name changed), a teacher from Palakkad.
He said their manner of questioning, attitude and the way in which the entire process was conducted made clear their disinterest. “In the previous years, the MHRD used the list sent by the states as such. Another problem the candidates faced was language. The jury members conversed only in English and Hindi. So teachers coming from states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu had to seek the help of translators. This again played against them,” said Jayanti (named changed), a teacher who had gone to Delhi.
After the national-level selection process, only two teachers were selected from the six teachers who had gone from the state, said Krishnakumar (name changed), who teaches at Thiruvananthapuram. “The only thing the entire process had managed to set in motion is competition among the teachers. Which I think is not healthy. They are in a noble profession. So, instead of making them compete against each other, teachers need to be motivated by rewarding them,” he said. The teachers found the entire process very insulting and a waste of their valuable time.