New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu said that women's respect needs to be brought in practice, not just in words. An important criterion for the development of any society is the status of women. In such a situation, it is the responsibility of parents and teachers to educate children in such a way that they always behave in accordance with the dignity of women.

The President's remarks came at a time when the Bengal incident has sparked a fresh discussion on women's safety and respect. Murmu was addressing the National Teachers' Honors ceremony on Teachers' Day on Thursday.

82 teachers were awarded the National Teacher Award

He honoured 82 teachers of the country with the National Teacher Award. Among these, 50 selected teachers teaching in schools are from 28 states, three union territories and six organisations. Among them, 34 are men and 16 are women. Apart from these, 16 teachers each teaching in higher education institutions and skill development were also honoured.

The President said, 'I have also been a teacher. When I am among teachers and children, the teacher in me comes alive. The meaning of life lies in working for the welfare of others. It is your responsibility to explain this to children properly. You have to prepare such citizens who are not only educated but also sensitive, honest and enterprising.' The President compared teachers to a good sculptor.

Today's students will lead tomorrow's developed India - President

He further said, "If a child is not able to perform well, then the education system and teachers have a bigger responsibility in this. The teacher plays the most important role in someone's success." He told the teachers to keep their process of acquiring knowledge continuous. This will make teaching more interesting and relevant. Today's students will lead tomorrow's developed India.

Honored for his innovation

-Dr. Meenakshi Kumari, a teacher at Shivganga Girls High School in Madhubani district of Bihar, along with educating the students, boosts their morale by giving free training in Mithila paintings, sewing and cutting to make them self-reliant. She explained the importance of sanitary pads to the students by running a cleanliness campaign. She has been making the students of the school and their relatives aware to stop child marriage since 2019. So far, she has been successful in stopping more than 80 child marriages.

- Hukam Chand Chaudhary, a government school teacher in Rajasthan, has developed low-cost project-based technologies. These include an automatic school bell made from recycled material and an AI-powered chatbot to answer questions on WhatsApp.

- Pallavi Sharma, Principal of Mamta Modern Senior Secondary School, Rajasthan, created the Maths and Science Park, Fundamental Literacy Laboratory and Happiness Lab 'KhushiShala'.

- Chandralekha Damodar Mestry, a teacher at Satyavati Soiru Angle Higher Secondary School in South Goa, bridged the language gap among primary students. She designed innovative, low-cost teaching aids and visited people door-to-door with books and stationery to generate interest in learning.

-Sagar Chittaranjan, a teacher at SASU SM Lohia High School, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, has conducted several social programmes to raise awareness on issues affecting orphans, tribals, young HIV patients and the disabled.

-K Suma from Andaman and Nicobar Islands was awarded for improving the infrastructure and increasing enrolment of government school.