Governor Shukla lauds efforts of teachers in shaping the future of Children, conferred State Awards upon 14 teachers
Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla today conferred State Awards upon 14 teachers and honoured two others with National Awards for the year 2022 in a State level function held at Raj Bhavan Shimla on the occasion of the Teacher’s Day today. On the occasion, Lady Governor Janki Shukla also presented saplings and pictures to all the award winners.
The Governor paid rich tributes to late Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, former President of India, whose birth anniversary is celebrated as Teacher’s Day throughout the country. He termed Dr. Radhakrishnan as a veracious personality, Nobel laureate, academician and an able administrator.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has termed the next 25 years as ‘Amrit Kaal’, adding that during this period, we should contribute to the development of the country in some way or the other. He said that only teachers play a pivotal role to shape and enable the future generation to contribute towards nation building.
Expressing concern, he said that today many youth were in the grip of drugs, which was a matter of concern for the future of the country. There was a need to start a strong campaign against drugs he said adding that students of schools, colleges and other educational institutions should be made aware about the ill-effects of drugs. Teachers could play an important role awaring the students about the ill-effects of drugs and make an important contribution to the entire society.
The Governor said that the process of making good human beings should be the basis of education. The overall objective of development of children was to build a strong nation, so teachers have the obligation to imbibe moral values to the them.
“Teaching is a noble profession and carries a massive responsibility because the conduct, character and thoughts of teachers influence the students and therefore, they should perform their duties honestly and sincerely”, said the Governor.
While congratulating the awardees, he appealed to the teaching community to work with more commitment and dedication. He said that the Government of India has implemented the National Education Policy in the country after 34 years. In the current context, this new National Education Policy, which provides affordable education to all and has many merits, but its implementation is also challenging. “It is important to understand its broader aspects and implement it and the onus lies more with the teachers,” said Sh. Shukla.
The Governor also released a souvenir on the occasion.
Education Minister Rohit Thakur welcomed the Governor and Lady Governor and said that the State Government was committed to the development of the education sector. He said that the life of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan has been inspirational as he dedicated his life to education and worked hard to strengthen this sector.
While congratulating all the award winners, he said that the education department is the biggest department of the government and there were more than 83,000 teachers in the department. He said that there has been unprecedented development in the field of education in Himachal Pradesh. In 1947, the literacy rate of the State was only eight percent, which has increased to more than 88 percent today. Today, there are 140 colleges in the State. The number of schools, colleges and universities were quite large and school facilities were available even in the last corner of the state where our teachers were serving, he added.
Earlier, Ashish Butail, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Education welcomed the Governor and said that teachers have an important role in nation building and due to the special status of teachers in the society, their responsibility becomes more sensitive.
The Governor awarded the following teachers for their exemplary contribution in the field of education. Amar Chand Chauhan, Principal, GSSS Anni, District Kullu, Hari Ram Sharma, Principal, Govt Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS) Nerwa, District Shimla, Deepak Kumar, Principal, GSSS(Boys) Chamba, Ashok Kumar, GSSS(Boys) Mandi, Dalip Singh, Lecturer, GSSS Wasani, Sirmour, Dr. Ravinder Singh Rathor, Lecturer, GSSS Chhota Shimla, Kishan Lal, DPE, GSSS Bajaura, Kullu, Hem Raj, TGT, GSSS Himri, Shimla, Kamal Kishore, Drawing Master, GSSS Teuri, Una, Kishori Lal, CHT, Dera Parol, Hamirpur, Naresh Sharma, HT, GPS Girtheri, Hamirpur, Shiv Kumar, JBT, GPS Kakrana, Una, Pardeep Kumar, JBT, GPS Saloh, Solan and Kailash Singh Sharma, JBT, Govt Central Primary School (GCPS) Lalpani were conferred State Level Teachers Award-2023.
Virender Kumar, TGT, GSSS, Dharogra, District Shimla and Yudhvir, JBT, GPS, Anoga, Chamba were conferred National Level Teachers Award-2022 at the occasion.
Ghanshyam Chand, Director, Elementary Education proposed vote of thanks.
A cultural programme was also presented by the students of Government Girls Senior Secondary School Portmore and Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyalaya Shimla on the occasion.
MLA Vinay Kumar, CPS Ashish Butail, Secretary, Education, Dr. Abhishek Jain, Secretary to the Governor Rajesh Sharma, Director, Secondary Education, Amarjit Sharma, Project Director, Smagra Shiksha Abhiyan, Rajesh Sharma, senior officers of the state government, teachers and students of various schools were also present among others on the occasion.