Two teachers from Meghalaya out of 75 from across the country will be conferred with the National Teachers Award on September 5 in New Delhi.
Madhav Singh a Science teacher at Alpha English Higher Secondary School, Umling in Ri-Bhoi district will be honoured with the award along with Timothy Jones Dhar a mechanic motor vehicle instructor at Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Rynjah, Shillong.
Born on October 3, 1977 to Sidheswar Singh and Champa Devi in Nongpoh, Singh pursued his education in Ri-Bhoi. He completed his Master of Science in Botany, Bachelor of Education and is about to finish his LLB.
Singh said that he was humbled by the acknowledgement and that his whole intent was to serve.
“When Meghalaya got its own statehood, my father chose to stay back in the land he grew up in. He told me to help, serve our people in the best way we can. I’m doing that and I will continue to do so,” he said.
Timothy Jones Dhar is another teacher of repute that has been acknowledged.
Having struggled to better his skills with some of the finest motor mechanic workshops in Shillong, Dhar did not get training except by hard labour.
He worked in local garages, one amongst them, Bah Nel’s Garage in Mawlai Nongkwar before Rani Motors, the franchisee of Maruti absorbed him.
The government found him fit to be part of the system and he was appointed as mechanic motor vehicle instructor in Jowai, West Jaintia Hills in 1998.
Since 2013 till today, Dhar has been working as a mechanical motor vehicle instructor at ITI Shillong.
“I am completely surprised at the recognition. I am just trying to do my job because motor mechanics is something which is not easy to understand. I just pray that I will continue to have the opportunity to serve and teach,” Dhar said.
It may be mentioned that President of India Droupadi Murmu shall confer the National Teachers’ Award 2023 to 75 selected awardees on September 5 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Each award carries a certificate of merit, a cash award of Rs 50,000 and a silver medal. The awardees would also get an opportunity to interact with the Prime Minister.
The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education has been organising a National level function on Teachers Day every year to confer the national award to the best teachers of the country, selected through a rigorous, transparent selection process.
From this year, the ambit of the National Teachers’ Award has been expanded to include teachers of the Department of Higher Education and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
50 school teachers, 13 teachers from higher education and 12 teachers from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will be awarded this year.
With a view to recognise innovative teaching, research, community outreach and novelty of work the nominations were sought in online mode to maximise participation. The Education Ministry has constituted three separate independent national juries composed of eminent persons for selection of teachers.
Every year, India celebrates 5th September, the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, as National Teachers’ Day. The purpose of the National Teachers’ Award is to celebrate the unique contribution of teachers in the country and to honor those teachers who, through their commitment and dedication, have not only improved the quality of education but also enriched the lives of their students.
