As India celebrates Teachers’ day today to mark the birth anniversary of teacher and the first vice-president Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, it must be noted that the day dedicated to teachers and mentors across India falls a month ahead of World Teachers’ Day, which is on October 5.

According to UNESCO’s website, held annually on 5 October since 1994, World Teachers’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. This Recommendation sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. The Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching and research personnel in higher education. 

Interestingly, in honour of Dr Radhakrishnan’s significant contribution towards education and his remarkable approach towards teaching, India has been celebrating Teachers’ Day on September 5 since 1962. 

The President of India confers the National Award to selected teachers on the occasion. Ever since 1962, the day has been celebrated by students as they pay tribute to their guides, mentors and teachers through speeches, gifts, poems. From cultural performances to literary events, there’s a lot that happens. However, due to the pandemic, just as the classes have been virtually, so is the celebration. While some students chose to perform over a video call, some decided mailing gifts to their teacher’s home would be fun. 

Furthermore, the Education Ministry will be celebrating the Shiksha Parv this year between September 5 and 17 in recognition of the valuable contributions of teachers.

“The National Award to Teachers will be conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind through a webinar on September 5 due to the COVID-19 situation,” a senior MoE official told NDTV. “For the year 2021, the online self-nomination process was followed by a three-tier selection process at district, state, and national level. A documentary film on each of the 44 awardee teachers will also be shown,” he added.

“On September 7 at 11 am, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the teachers, students, parents and stakeholders associated with education. He will be launching five initiatives of the Department of School Education,” the official concluded.