Governor Bandaru Dattatraya today conferred State Awards upon 16 teachers and honoured one National Award winning teacher during the World Teacher's Day function held here today.On the occasion, Dattatraya said that the Government of India has implemented the National Education Policy in the country after 34 years. In the current perspective, this new national education policy, which provides affordable education, skill development education to all, has many features but its implementation was also challenging, he added. He said that it was necessary to understand and implement its broader aspect and this responsibility was more on teachers.The Governor said that it was an important opportunity for Himachal Pradesh to take the lead in the field of education. Himachal has always excelled in the field of education and the State may work better in some educational reforms suggested in the National Education Policy, he added. He said that there was a need to identify areas in which the state could take an edge.He said that there were three major elements that contribute towards the progress of a nation and these were education, employment and empowerment. He said that India is a young nation and its 62.5 percent of the population was in the age group of 15-59 years, which would become 65 percent by the year 2036. It was a right time when a commitment was needed to build a strong nation with a universal image, he added and said that it was possible only when the active participation of youth were ensured.“We can make full use of our demographic dividend in nation building only when India is able to develop skills in line with the needs of the world. And, the teacher can play important role in this direction," said the Governor.While congratulating the awardees, he appealed the teaching community to work with more commitment for the overall development of the future generation.The Governor also released a souvenir on the occasion.
On the occasion, Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur said that teachers build the nation, so their cooperation would be expected in the implementation of National Education Policy effectively in the state. He said that the New Education Policy has been announced after much deliberation, which is teacher and student centric. By implementing New Education Policy, we would produce good citizens in the country, he added.He said that on 3rd October, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the world's largest and strongest Atal Tunnel Rohtang to the country. He said that this tunnel would definitely confer a new look to the economy of the State. He said that keeping in view of COVID-19, it was decided to conduct the programme through virtual media but this was an important day for teachers as they were to be honoured. So, it was decided to actualize this programme.Earlier, Education Secretary Rajeev Sharma welcomed the Governor and said that teachers have done an excellent job during corona pandemic to run the education system smoothly, which was praiseworthy. He said that education has been made accessible to all children under the programme ‘Har Ghar Pathshala’ and with the active role of teachers, video lessons have been delivered to students through various media. About 7 lakh parents were connected through ePTM, an app for parents and teachers meeting.Director, Primary Education, Shubhakaran Singh proposed a vote of thanks.The Governor conferred State Award upon Principal GSSS Chamba Vikas Mahajan, Principal Govt. Model SSS Portmore Narender Kumar Sood, Principal Govt. Model SSS Kaza Dekit Dolkar, Head Master GSSS Dhrot Dhar Bagsad (Mandi) Uttam Singh, Lecturer GSSS Garakufri Dayanand Sharma, Lecturer GSSS Bagli (Kangra) Rakesh Kumar Walia, Lecturer GSSS Dhundan (Solan) Narender Kapila, DPE GSSS Jaunaji (Solan) Hem Kumar Sharma, DPE GSSS Kharga (Kullu) Dayanand Thakur, TGT GSSS Kather (Solan) Sunita Kumari, Language teacher, GSSS Sultanpur (Solan) Dev Dutt Sharma, Shastri GSSS Lamblu (Hamirpur) Tilak Raj Sharma, Physical Education Teacher GSSS Oachghat (Solan) Narvada Sood, CHT GSSS Haripurdhar (Sirmaur) Naresh Thakur, JBT GPS Baroha (Bilaspur) Vinod Kumar, CHT, GPS Jhagriyani (Hamirpur) Promila Devi and JBT GPS Gadvi (Bilaspur) Anjana Sharma.He also honoured National Award winner for the year 2019, Principal GSSS Chamba Vikas Mahajan.Mayor Municipal Corporation Shimla Satya Kaundal, Director Higher Education Amarjeet Singh, Project Director Samagra Shiksha Ashish Kohli and other senior officers and teachers were also present among others on the occasion.