The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, presented National Awards to meritorious teachers from across the country at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi today on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that strong foundations of character-building are laid in schools. The main objective of education is to make the student a good human-being. And teachers do so by instilling honesty, discipline and integrity in their students.

A good human-being possessing these values ​​will prove to be good in each and every sphere. By ensuring that their students become good human beings, teachers contribute in the nation-building process.

The President said that today, the world is moving from information era to knowledge era. However, knowledge alone will not be able to ensure the safety of human civilization. Along with knowledge, it is also necessary to have a conscience. Only when knowledge is combined with wisdom, it can solve human problems. In this globalized and highly competitive world, we have to establish a balance between ‘artificial intelligence’ and ‘human compassion’ and between ‘digital learning’ and ‘character building’.

Only on the basis of such rational knowledge, we can tackle the present challenges such as climate change, pollution, melting glaciers etc. Teachers can contribute significantly in the national campaign of water conservation by instilling in students the importance of water conservation.

The President urged teachers to build a new generation that is full of knowledge and wisdom, so that it can successfully address all the contemporary challenges.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Human Resource Development and Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Minister of State for Human Resource Development.