President of India Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Awards for Teachers 2026 at a ceremony in New Delhi on Teachers’ Day, recognising educators from across the country for their outstanding contributions.
In her address, the President said education is the most effective means of realising the ideal of equality of opportunity enshrined in the Constitution. She credited teachers for achieving a negligible primary school dropout rate and praised their role in shaping future citizens.
Highlighting the importance of school education, she noted that lessons in good conduct during childhood are more effective than at any other stage. Teachers, she said, must focus on the intellectual, physical, and moral development of children in the early grades.
The President emphasised the responsibility of teachers to instil confidence in students from disadvantaged backgrounds, first‑generation learners, shy children, and those with special needs. She underlined that academic excellence, skill development, and entrepreneurship are vital for India’s progress, adding that establishing India as a skill capital and knowledge superpower is a national priority.
She concluded by stressing that the goal of building a Viksit Bharat can only be achieved through a world‑class education system, with teachers breathing life into it through knowledge, inspiration, morality, and sensitivity.
