Teachers' Day 2021: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, others greet educators;  pay tribute to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday took to Twitter to extend his greetings on Teachers’ Day, and pay his respects to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, whose birth anniversary is observed annually as Teachers’ Day. “Greetings to the entire teaching fraternity, which has always played a pivotal role in nurturing young minds. It is commendable how teachers have innovated and ensured that the education journey of students in the Covid-19 times,” PM Modi tweeted.

“I pay my respects to Dr S Radhakrishnan on his Jayanti and recall his distinguished leadership as well as contributions to our nation,” he added.

Union home minister Amit Shah, too, extended his greetings on the occasion. “I remember and pay tribute to a great philosopher and excellent teacher, former president Dr S Radhakrishnan on his birth anniversary. I salute our hardworking teachers who have contributed remarkably in the building of our nation by enriching the lives of our students with the light of education,” a rough translation of Shah’s tweet, posted in Hindi, read.

President Ram Nath Kovind will virtually honour 44 deserving teachers today at 10:30 a.m. by presenting them with the National Teachers’ Award, which was established in 1958. This award was given to 47 teachers at last year’s ceremony.

Teachers’ Day was first observed on September 5, 1962. On this day in 1888, Dr. Radhakrishnan, India’s first vice president and later second president, was born. Along with CV Raman and C Rajgopalachari, he was one of the first three recipients of the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award, in 1954.