School teachers from various states received an Honour for Excellence in Teaching and School Leadership Award from the Central Board of School Education (CBSE) on September 21 — out of the 22 recipients, not a single teacher was from a South Indian state — two were from Odisha and one was even from Oman.
The recipients are primary, middle, secondary and senior secondary level-school teachers. While the lion's share of awardees, eight of them to be precise, are teachers from Delhi, two are from Punjab, four are from Uttar Pradesh, and one each from Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh, Assam and Gujarat. Teachers from other major states don't make the cut. Last year, there were 38 awardees in total and two of them were from Tamil Nadu while one was from Telangana.
The award, established in the year 2000, calls for applications every year and the winners get a merit certificate, cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a shawl. Some notable winners such as Sitakant Pati from Odisha got an award for the kind of video-learning material he developed for Class 12 mathematics. Another teacher from Assam, Munindra Kumar Majumdar, is a pioneer of his school's Math Bulletin wherein students contribute innovative ideas in the subject.
The official document released by the CBSE reads, "The teachers and principals selected to be honoured this year have gone through a transparent and rigorous selection process and have been found genuinely eligible in light of carefully selected parameters related to all aspects of school education. We are honouring them for demonstrating excellence and setting examples in terms of professional and personal dedication to the cause of education."
The awards were presented by Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi at an event held online where she said, "Teachers have handled difficult situations and challenges arising from the COVID-19 situation well with their dedicated personal efforts so that the epidemic does not hinder the learning of their students."
Devi added that there are changes to be made to the present education system, she said, “In line with the New Education Policy 2020, further changes are expected in the education system with more professionalism, commitment and dedication." She said that teachers need to shift from the traditional modes of teaching towards more innovative teaching methods.
