National Teachers’ Day is observed annually across India on 5 September to honours teachers for their dedication, hard work, and invaluable contribution to education and society.
- The day mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1st Vice-President and 2nd President of India.
Exam Hints:
- What? National Teachers’ Day 2025
- Commemoration: Birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
- First observed: 1962 on his 77th birthday.
- National Teachers’ Awards 2025: 81 teachers awarded by President Droupadi Murmu
- Award details: Silver Medal + Certificate of Merit + Rs. 50,000
- Dr. Radhakrishnan: Bharat Ratna (1954), Ambassador to USSR, represented India at UNESCO, 1st Indian Professor at Oxford.
Background:
Presidency Tenure: Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan became the 2nd President of India in 1962, when his students sought permission to celebrate his birthday as a special day.
Suggestion : Instead of celebrating his birthday, he requested students to observe 5 September as Teachers’ Day.
First Celebration: The Day was first celebrated on 5 September 1962.
About Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Birth: Born on 5 September 1888 in Tiruttani, Madras Presidency (now Tamil Nadu, TN).
Role: Became the first Indian Professor at Oxford University, United Kingdom (UK), in 1931.
- Served as Indian Ambassador to the Soviet Union (Russia) from 1949 to 1952.
- Represented India at United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) between 1946 and 1952.
Political Career: Held office as the 1st Vice President of India (1952–1962) and later as the 2nd President of India (1962–1967).
Notable Works: Include The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore (1918); The Principal Upanishads (1953); A Source Book of Indian Philosophy (1957), etc.
Demise: Passed away on 17 April 1975 in Chennai, TN.
Awards and Honours:
Recognition(1931): He received Knighthood from King George V, earning the title Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, which he relinquished after India’s independence.
Royal Order of Merit (1963): Conferred honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit.
Bharat Ratna (1954): Awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his contributions in Public Affairs.
2025 Events:
Ceremony: President Droupadi Murmu presented the National Teachers’ Awards (NTA) 2025 to 81 teachers across India, at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi, on September 5, 2025.
School Teachers: The Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education (MoE), has selected 45 teachers from Schools through a three-stage transparent online process from 27 States, 7 UTs and 6 Organizations for NTA 2025.
Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Polytechnic teachers: The Department of Higher Education (DoHE), Ministry of Education (MoE), has selected 21 teachers from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Polytechnics for National Awards to Teachers (NAT) 2025, recognizing excellence under NEP 2020.
- NAT categories: Category I – HEI teachers in Engineering, Technology, Sciences, Humanities, Law, Management; Category II – Polytechnic teachers, with 10 awards reserved for Polytechnic institutions.
Skill development teachers: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has selected 15 teachers for NAT 2025.
Awardees Selection: Based on Teaching-Learning effectiveness, Outreach, Research, Innovation, Sponsored projects and Consultancy, with highest weightage given to Learning Effectiveness and Outreach activities in evaluation.
Award Details: Each award carries a Silver Medal, Certificate of Merit (CoM), and Rs. 50,000 cash prize.
About Ministry of Education (MOE):
Union Minister – Dharmendra Pradhan (Constituency – Sambalpur, Odisha)
Minister of State (MoS) – Jayant Chaudhary(Rajya Sabha – Uttar Pradesh, UP); Sukanta Majumdar(Constituency – Balurghat, West Bengal, WB)
