Dehradun: On the occasion of Teachers’ Day, the “Shailesh Matiyani State Educational Award” felicitation ceremony was organized at Raj Bhavan on Friday. In the ceremony, Governor Lieutenant General Gurmeet Singh (Retd), Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami and Education Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat honored 16 teachers selected for Shailesh Matiyani State Educational Awards in the year 2024. This honor has been given to 09 elementary teachers, 05 secondary teachers, 01 teacher trainer and 01 Sanskrit teacher selected in the year 2024. (List attached)
Congratulating the award winning teachers, the Governor said that this honor is a symbol of hard work and penance of the entire teacher community. He said that teachers are not only the ones who impart knowledge, but are also the creators of character, morality and life values. The Governor said that the objective of education should not be limited to employment only, teachers should contribute in making children cultured, responsible and patriotic citizens. The Governor said that after parents, Gurus are the true guides of children and they have the biggest role in taking the future of children in the right direction. He expressed confidence that the contribution of teachers will be decisive in making India a world leader by the year 2047. The Governor said that Uttarakhand has been a major center of education, so our responsibility increases even more to make this tradition stronger.
The Governor said that in today’s era of internet and social media, only teachers can do the work of saving children from deviation, developing wisdom and right life-view in them. He urged the teachers to develop the habit of reading books in children and connect them with sports, culture and creative activities.
Wishing all the teachers a Happy Teacher’s Day, Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami said that teachers have an important responsibility to shape the personality and future of the students with their experience, knowledge and hard work. Congratulating the teachers who received the Shailesh Matiyani State Educational Excellence Award, the Chief Minister said that Shailesh Matiyani was a storyteller who deeply understood the pain and sensitivities of the mountain. Along with fiction, he also left a deep mark in prose and contemporary thinking. Shailesh Matiyani ji also wove the struggle of the mountainous areas and villagers of Uttarakhand through words in his stories and novels.
The Chief Minister said that since our ancient tradition, the Guru is considered not only a teacher but also a guide in every field of life. He works to sow the seeds of patriotism, discipline, morality and values in the disciples. Today, in this changing era of the digital age, the role of teachers has become even more important, who introduce our children to culture, values and moral values along with modern education.
The Chief Minister said that under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the state government is running many schemes to improve the quality of education in the state. Special schemes have also been started for the training and skill development of teachers. Uttarakhand was the first in the country to implement the National Education Policy 2020. The state government started an educational revolution in the state by starting ‘Bal Vatika’ in the year 2022. Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country where ‘State Curriculum Framework’ has been prepared for basic education. ‘Kaushal Program’ has also been started to develop skills, entrepreneurship and Indian knowledge tradition among children.
Education Minister Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat, while giving information about the work and innovations being done by the Education Department, said that virtual classes have been started in 1340 schools of the state and smart classes in 950 schools. He said that this year sports complexes are being built in all the districts. This year vocational courses have been started in 550 schools and tablets have been provided to 22 thousand primary teachers of the state. The Education Minister said that about 9500 recruitments are being made in the Education Department this year.
In the program, Secretary School Education Ravinath Raman welcomed the people present in the felicitation ceremony and gave detailed information about the felicitation ceremony. Additional Secretary School Education Ranjana Rajguru expressed her gratitude. Late Shailesh Matiyani’s son Mr. Rakesh Matiyani and Mrs. Geeta Matiyani, other senior officials of the Education Department and the teachers who received the award were present in the program.
