On the occasion of Teacher’s Day, Himachal Pradesh Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla here on Tuesday 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, Lady Governor Janki Shukla also presented saplings and pictures to all the awardees.

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.

Governor 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 in shaping and enabling the future generation to contribute towards nation-building.

Expressing concern, he said, “Today many youths 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 of the ill effects of drugs. Teachers could play an important role in 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 the development of children was to build a strong nation, so teachers have the obligation to imbibe moral values to them, he added.

“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, he added.

“It is important to understand its broader aspects and implement it and the onus lies more with the teachers,” said the Governor.

He also released a souvenir on the occasion.

Education Minister Rohit Thakur welcoming the Governor and Lady Governor, 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 said.

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.