National Teachers’ Day is annually observed across India on 5 September to commemorate the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a great philosopher and scholar, who served as the 1st Vice-President and the 2nd President of Independent India.
- He was born on 5 September 1888, at Tiruttani, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tamil Nadu).
- The Day honours and recognises the dedication, hard work, and exceptional contributions of teachers to education and our society.
Background:
i.Dr. Radhakrishan assumed office as the 2nd President of India in 1962, and some of his students approached him to seek permission to celebrate September 5 as a special day.
ii.Dr. Radhakrishnan instead, requested them to observe September 5 as Teachers’ Day, to recognise the contribution of teachers to society.
iii.The 1st National Teachers’ Day was observed on 5 September 1962, the 77th birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
About Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan:
i.Radhakrishnan’s political career was marked by several significant positions, including his tenure as the Indian Ambassador to the Soviet Union (now Russia) from 1949 to 1952.
ii.He represented India at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) from 1946–52.
iii.He served as the 1st Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962 and the 2nd President of India, from 1962 to 1967.
iv.From 1921 to 1931, Dr. Radhakrishnan held the chair of philosophy at Calcutta University, in Kolkata, West Bengal(WB).
v.In 1931, he became the 1st Indian to hold a chair at Oxford University (England, the United Kingdom (UK)) when he was appointed Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics.
vi.He passed away on 17 April 1975 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu(TN).
Notable Works:
Some of his notable works include The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore (1918); The Principal Upanishads (1953); A Source Book of Indian Philosophy (1957), etc.
Awards/Honours:
i.Dr. Radhakrishnan received a Knighthood from King George V in 1931, receiving the title Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (relinquished after India’s independence).
ii.He also received honorary membership of the British Royal Order of Merit in 1963.
iii.The Government of India (GoI) honoured him with the Bharat Ratna in 1954 for Public Affairs.
National Teachers’ Awards 2024:
On the occasion of National Teachers’ Day 2024, President Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Teachers’ Award 2024 (NTA 2024) to 82 recipients, at Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi, Delhi.
- These awards aim to honour teachers who, through dedication and hard work, have improved the quality of school education and enriched the lives of their students.
Awardees & Selection Process:
i.The Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education (MoE), has selected 50 teachers for the 2024 NTA.
ii.The DoSEL has selected the teachers through a rigorous, transparent, and online process, involving 3 stages: District, State, and National levels.
iii.The 50 selected teachers represent 28 States, 3 Union Territories (UTs), and 6 Organizations.
iv.An additional 16 teachers from the Department of Higher Education (DoHE), MoE, and 16 from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) were also awarded.
Award Details: Each award carries a Certificate of Merit (CoM), a cash award of Rs 50,000, and a Silver medal.
About National Teachers’ Awards (NTA):
i.Every year on the occasion of National Teachers’ Day, the MoE, confer NTA, to recognise and celebrate the invaluable contributions of some of the finest teachers across India.
ii.The purpose of NTA is to celebrate the unique contributions of some of the finest teachers in India.
iii.From 2023, the scope of the NAT has been broadened to encompass teachers from the DoHE, and the MSDE.
About the Ministry of Education (MoE):
Union Minister– Dharmendra Pradhan (Constituency: Sambalpur, Odisha)
Ministers of State (MoS)- Jayant Chaudhary (Rajya Sabha, Uttar Pradesh (UP)); Sukanta Majumdar (Constituency: Balurghat, West Bengal, WB)
