National Teachers’ Award 2026: Teachers Transforming Education

13 Sep 2026

Source: The Hindu

Context: The National Teachers’ Award, instituted in 1958, recognises outstanding school educators who have made significant contributions to improving education; the 2026 list includes 48 teachers whose innovations range from astronomy and technology to nutrition, communication and government-school transformation.

 

National Teachers’ Award

• Purpose: The award recognises meritorious teachers who demonstrate innovative teaching practices, improve learning outcomes and contribute to the broader development of students and schools.
• 2026 Awardees: The list contains 48 educators from across India, including teachers from States and Union Territories such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and others.
• Award Ceremony: The awardees will receive the national honour from President Droupadi Murmu on September 5, observed as Teachers’ Day in India.

Divyendu Sen – Rajasthan

• Promoting Scientific Temper: Divyendu Sen, a biology teacher at a government school in Pachpahar, Jhalawar, focuses on developing curiosity and scientific temperament rather than limiting education to examination performance.
• Asteroid Discovery: Through a NASA-supported citizen-science campaign, his students have identified 12 asteroid candidates since COVID-19, of which four have received provisional recognition, demonstrating that rural students can participate in advanced scientific activities with appropriate guidance.
• Technology in Education: He has converted educational content into audio formats using students’ voices and encourages participation in the National Children’s Science Congress, science competitions and talent-search programmes.
• Scientific Temperament: Sen argues that such initiatives may not produce immediate employment benefits but develop computer skills, scientific curiosity and long-term problem-solving capabilities among students.

K.P. Sunil Kumar – Kerala

• Addressing Learning Gaps: K.P. Sunil Kumar, headmaster of a government upper-primary school in Puzhathi, Kannur, has developed programmes to address learning deficiencies that became particularly visible after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Holistic Skills: His initiatives seek to improve students’ language proficiency, literary abilities, communication skills and creativity while making classroom learning more engaging.

Broader Significance

• Beyond Textbook Learning: The awardees demonstrate a shift from conventional teaching towards experiential, technology-enabled and student-centred learning, where curiosity, creativity and communication are treated as important learning outcomes.
• Bridging Educational Inequality: Initiatives by government-school teachers show that rural and disadvantaged students can access advanced learning opportunities when teachers provide appropriate mentorship and resources.
• Post-COVID Learning Recovery: Innovative classroom practices are particularly important for addressing learning gaps and foundational skill deficits created or intensified by prolonged school disruptions.
• Scientific Temper: Activities such as astronomy, science competitions and technology-based learning contribute to developing scientific temper, critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning among children.

UPSC-Relevant Concepts

• Scientific Temper: Developing a questioning, rational and evidence-based approach to understanding phenomena, an objective explicitly encouraged under Article 51A(h) of the Constitution.
• Experiential Learning: Learning through practical activities, experimentation and real-world experiences rather than relying solely on rote memorisation; this approach is emphasised in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Citizen Science: Participation of ordinary citizens, including students, in scientific data collection and research, as illustrated by the students' involvement in asteroid identification.

Significance for Education Policy: The achievements of these teachers demonstrate that strengthening India's education system requires not only infrastructure and curriculum reforms but also empowered teachers, innovative pedagogy, experiential learning and greater opportunities for students to explore beyond textbooks.