NEW DELHI: On Teachers’ Day, President Droupadi Murmu gave away national awards to teachers selected from across the country for their extraordinary contribution in the field of education.
Happiness lab, gamified assessments, home-based education visits, preventing child marriages and an automated school bell made of recycled materials are among the feats that have bagged National Teachers Awards for 82 teachers.
The President urged the teaching fraternity to prepare students to be sensitive, honest, sincere and enterprising, besides preparing them educationally.
Moving ahead in life is a success, but the meaning of life lies in working for the welfare of others, she said. “We should have compassion. Our conduct should be ethical. Teaching these values to students is the duty of teachers,” she said, adding that teachers play the most important role in the success of any education system. Murmu was a teacher before being appointed as governor and thereafter the President.
“Teaching is not just a job. It is a sacred mission of human development. If a child is not able to perform well, then the education system and teachers have a bigger responsibility,” the President said.
She also emphasised the all-round development of the child at the school level. The responsibility of teachers and parents goes hand-in-hand to prepare youngsters in such a way that they are always respectful of women. “Great teachers build a great nation,” she said.
As many as 82 teachers from across the country bagged the National Teachers Awards. One of them, Chandralekha Damodar Mestri, a teacher at the Satyawati Soiru Angle Higher Secondary School in South Goa, received the award for bridging the language gap for her primarily first-generation learner students.
Sagar Chittaranjan Bagade, a teacher at Sou. S. M. Lohia High School and Junior College in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, won it for organising numerous social events to raise awareness on issues affecting orphans, tribals, young HIV patients, and individuals with disabilities.
Another teacher, K Suma from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, bagged the award for her dedication to improving the infrastructure in government schools and increasing enrolment. Bihar’s Minakshi Kumari, who teaches at Shiv Ganga Girls plus 2 High School in Madhubani district, is awarded for her contribution in community involvement by engaging parents in improving school outcomes like clean uniforms and drinking water facilities.
Among the teachers honoured, there were many who have worked innovatively to foster the love of learning among the children.