E-Paper
President Kovind confers National Award to 47 educators in virtual ceremony
Talking about the National Education Policy, President Kovind said that it is now teachers who will be at the center-stage for making the policy successful and productive.
A teacher from Odisha who worked on developing technologies for visually impaired children, another who used theatrical concepts to inculcate the love of learning among tribal children in Uttarakhand and a third who works on ways to encourage gender parity were among 47 educators who were conferred with the National Award by President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday.
This was the first time that the awards were given in a virtual ceremony.
In his speech, Kovind observed that about 40 percent of the winners were women and appreciated the role women have played as educators.
Paying tributes to Dr. S Radhakrishnan, President Kovind said that he was a visionary, statesman and most significantly an extraordinary teacher. Celebrating his birthday as Teachers’ Day is a mere token for the services he had rendered.
Emphasizing on the importance of digital technology in the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Kovind said that our teachers are taking the help of technology to reach out to children. Pointing out the digital divide, he also emphasized that steps should be taken so that children from tribal and far-flung areas are also benefitted.
Talking about the National Education Policy, President Kovind opined that it is now the teachers who would be at the center-stage for making the policy successful and productive.
Union Education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the main responsibility of a teacher is to be aware of the changing social needs and individual needs of the learners and also to take into account the past experiences, educational priorities and national development goals in the teaching-learning process.
Among the teachers who have won the awards were Tapas Kumar Mohanty, Teacher, Bhima Bhoi School for the Blind in Khorda, Odisha. Mohanty has brought out many publications dealing with teaching practices for the visually challenged as well as many audio books for them to keep up with learning needs at higher education levels.
Sudha Painuli, as a Vice Principal in an Eklavaya Model Residential School near Dehradun created programmes in order to inculcate the love of learning amongst tribal children through innovative concepts like theatre education, youth parliaments and ecological projects.
Snehil Pandey, as a Head Teacher of a government Primary School has transformed her school with innovative and joyful learning activities, emphasis on gender parity, the use of ICT for learning support and regular early grade reading practices.
Jyoti Arora of Delhi’s Mount Abu Public School was also among the awardees. Surender Singh of MCP School in Adarsh Nagar in Delhi also won the award. Singh has shown himself to be a dedicated and motivated teacher who has worked very hard for the improvement and performance of his school. The school caters to some of the most deprived sections of the society and he has worked hard to make the school attractive and effective, the citation said.
