Revised Guidelines for Selection of Teachers for National Awards to Teachers from 2023
Introduction:
The purpose of National Awards to Teachers is to celebrate the unique contribution of some of the finest teachers in the country and to honor those teachers who through their commitment and industry have not only improved the quality of school education but also enriched the lives of their students.
2. Conditions of Eligibility of Teachers for consideration for the Awards:
School teachers and Heads of Schools working in recognized primary/middle/high/higher secondary schools under the following categories:
a) Schools run by State Govt./UTs Administration, schools run by local bodies, schools aided by State Govt. and UT Administration and Private schools affiliated to State/UTs Board.
b) Central Govt. Schools i.e. Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), Sainik Schools run by Ministry of Defence (MoD), Schools run by Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES) and Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) run by Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
c) Schools affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) (other than those at (a) and (b) above)
d) Schools affiliated to Council for Indian Schools Certificate Examination (CISCE) (Other than those at (a), (b) and (c)above
1) Normally retired teachers are not eligible for the award but those teachers who have served a part of the calendar year (at least for four months i.e. up to 30th April in the year to which National Awards relate) may be considered if they fulfill all other conditions.
ii) Educational Administrators, Inspectors of Education, and the staff of training Institutes are not eligible for these awards.
Teacher/Headmaster should not have indulged in tuitions.
iv) Only regular Teachers and Heads of Schools with minimum ten years of services are eligible.
v) Contractual Teachers and Shiksha Mitras are not eligible.
3. Considerations to guide the selection of teachers upto State/UTs/Organization levels:
Teachers will be evaluated based on the evaluation matrix given at Annexure-I. Evaluation matrix contains two types of criteria for evaluation:
a) Objective criteria: Under this the teachers will be awarded marks against each of the objective criteria. These criteria are given a weightage of 10 out of 100.
b) Criteria based on performance: Under this, teachers will be awarded marks on criteria based on performance e.g. initiatives to improve learning outcomes, innovative experiments undertaken, organization of extra and co-curricular activities, use of Teaching Learning Material, social mobility, ensuring experiential learning, unique ways to ensure physical education to students etc. These criteria are given a weightage of 90 out of 100.
4. Procedure for application and selection:
a) All the applications would be received through an online web portal.
b) Ministry of Education would ensure coordination with States/UTs regarding timely submission / entry into the portal and resolution of technical and operational issues during data entry into portal through the portal development agency.
c) Ministry of Education will bear the entire expenditure for development and maintenance of the portal.
d) In case of State/UTs, teachers and heads of schools themselves shall apply directly by filling the application form online through the web portal before the prescribed cut-off date.
e) Every applicant shall submit a portfolio, online along with the Entry Form. The portfolio shall include relevant supporting material such as documents, tools, reports of activities, field visits, photographs, audios or videos etc.
f) Undertaking by the applicant: Each applicant shall give an undertaking that all the information/data submitted is true to the best of his/her knowledge and if anything is found at any later date to be untrue then he/she will be liable to disciplinary action.
5. District Selection Committee (DSC)
District Selection Committee may be constituted by State/UT Education Dept
a) First level scrutiny will be done by District Selection Committee (DSC) headed by the District Education Officer. Members of DSC would be as under:
1) District Education Officer: Chairperson
ii) Representative of State/UT Govt.: Member
One Reputed academician nominated by District Collector: Member Efforts may be made to the extent possible to change the names of nominated members every year.
b) The major functions to be performed by DSC are as under:
1) Physical verification of the facts/ information provided by the applicant by forming verification teams.
ii) Evaluation/ marking of the applicants as per the format at Annexure-I.
Certificate by DSC: The DSC shall certify that marks have been awarded after due verification of the facts.
iv) After the detailed evaluation of the applications, DSC will shortlist maximum 3 names and forward these to State Selection Committee through online portal along with vigilance clearance certificate of each of the 3 applicants.
v) In addition to the applications received, the DSC in exceptional circumstances, may suo-moto consider name of maximum one person among the outstanding teachers including special educators and differently abled teachers/heads of schools. The evaluation will be done as per the format at Annexure-I.
vi) DSC may take into account performance of teachers in various streams of studies viz. science, arts, music, physical education etc.
6. The State Selection Committee (SSC)
a) The State Selection Committee (SSC) will be headed by Principal Secretary/Secretary of State Education Department. Members of SSC will be as under:
1) Principal Secretary/ Secretary of State Education Department: Chairperson
ii) Nominee of Union Govt.: Member
ⅲ) Director/Commissioner of Education: Member Secretary
iv) Director, SCERT or equivalent if there is no SCERT: Member
Efforts may be made to the extent possible to change the names of nominated members every year.
b) The major functions to be performed by SSC are as under:
i) Re-verification of the facts/ information/marks of the nominations received from all the DSCS.
ii) Evaluate all the nominations and prepare shortlist of the best candidates, subject to the maximum number allotted to the States/UTs as per Annexure-III and forward the same to Independent Jury at National level through online portal.
7. Regional Selection Committee (RSC) (For Organizations and Autonomous Bodies)
a. RSCs may be constituted by the Organizations
b. The major functions to be performed by RSC are as under:
i) Physical verification of the facts/ information provided by the applicant by forming verification teams.
ii) Evaluation/ marking of the applicants as per the format at Annexure-I.
iii) Certificate by RSC: The RSC shall certify that marks have been awarded after due verification of the facts.
iv) After the detailed evaluation of the applications, RSC will shortlist maximum 3 names and forward these to Organization Selection Committee through online portal along with vigilance clearance certificate of each of the 3 applicants.
v) In addition to the applications received, the RSC in exceptional circumstances, may suo-moto consider name of maximum one person among the outstanding teachers including special educators and differently abled teachers/heads of schools. The evaluation will be done as per the format at Annexure-1.
vi) RSC may take into account performance of teachers in various streams of studies viz. science, arts, music, physical education etc.
8. Organization Selection Committee (OSC) (For Organizations and Autonomous Bodies)
a) The composition of OSC is as under:
1) Chairperson/ Director/ Commissioner/ Head of the Organization: Chairperson
ii) One officer from the Organization nominated by the Chairperson
Nominee of Union Govt.: Member
iv) One reputed academician deputed by the Chairperson: Member
b) The major functions to be performed by OSC are as under:
1) Re-verification of the facts/ information/marks of the nominations received from all the RSCs.
H) Evaluate all the nominations and prepare shortlist of the best candidates, subject to the maximum number allotted to the Organizations as per Annexure-III and forward the same to Independent Jury at National level through online portal.
Efforts may be made to the extent possible to change the names of nominated. members every year.
9. Independent Jury at National level
A. There will be a Five Member Jury. All five members should have extensive experience in aspects related to school education. At least two members may be drawn from government, working or retired, but at above the level of Joint Secretary. The Independent Jury at National Level will be headed and chaired by any of the experienced members of the Jury, as may be selected by the Union Education Minister.
B. Process for selection -
i) The Independent Jury would review the list of candidates as forwarded by all the SSCs and OSCs and carry out fresh assessment, using the criteria and weightages given in the Evaluation Matrix for National Award to Teachers (Annexure I & Annexure II)
ii) Each applicant is required to:
a) Submit an application letter (maximum 1500 words either in English/Hindi) addressed to the jury with a narrative that shows how they have fulfilled the criteria for the award. Further, this application letter should also include the names of a few (maximum five) students with whom the teacher's interaction has resulted in a positive outcome like retention in school despite adverse circumstances OR a student who is pursuing higher studies OR a student who has been recognised / awarded in the field / subject that the teacher is giving instruction in OR whose aspirations for higher achievements have been moulded by the candidate, etc
b) Make a 10 minute presentation before the Jury, elucidating his/herspecial qualifications, actions, achievements, abilities, etc
iii) The Independent Jury would identify the best candidates through their qualitative assessment, on the basis of the application letter and the presentation, against each category using the indicative criteria given in Annexure II.
iv) The jury may determine the category under which the teacher is recommended for the award, based on the qualitative assessment which would be highlighted.
v) The jury will submit list of recommended candidates along with commendations about exemplary work done by each of the candidates.
vi) The jury shall select candidates subject to the maximum of 50 (this may include two candidates from Special Category for differently abled teachers etc.).
vii) Secretarial assistance to the Jury will be provided by NCERT.
10. The Independent Jury at National Level will submit their recommendations to Hon'ble Education Minister for acceptance and final approval.
11.TA/DA for the awardees and their companions shall be paid by Ministry of Education at the entitlement notionally equivalent to group A officer at entry level in the central government.
12. This has the approval of Hon'ble Union Education Minister.
The selection of teachers for the awards will be done based on their performance in the following indicative areas:
a) Innovative pedagogy and joyful learning Using joyful activities like story-telling, arts, games, sports, examples, etc in order to ensure that education is maximally relatable, relevant, interesting, and effective for our students.
b) Use of technology for learning Innovating and channeling cost-effective tech resources for enriching classroom learning, creating content using ICT as envisioned under NEP.
C) Creation of low cost teaching learning, Learning material and mentorship materials, undertaking mentorship and nurturance beyond classroom walls for holistic development of students.
d) Engagement of community Mobilizing stakeholders in the community and engage them meaningfully in various school development activities like school management committee, social audit, increasing enrolment, uplifting deprived children, mobilizing resources, etc.
e) Governance Strengthening school administration by adopting innovative measures to improve attendance, school management systems, staff training, programme monitoring, etc
f) Delivery of FLN Adoption of various strategies to improve foundational literacy and numeracy skills in school
Evaluation Matrix for National Award to Teachers up to State/UT/ Organization Level
Qualitative Assessment by Independent Jury & Criteria for category of awards
Candidates will be evaluated based on their application letter and a presentation comprising of following aspects, which are indicative in nature, not exhaustive
I. Demonstration of an innovative mindset.
II. Teacher's design and implementation of methods showed innovation and out of the box thinking.
III) The innovation in the methodology addressed a felt need/issue in school /classroom/students/community.
IV. Besides innovation, the design and delivery of the pedagogy reflected on sustainability, quality, inclusiveness and impact.
V. Contributed significantly to strengthening collaboration and communication in the school teaching community.
VI. Demonstration of community spirit and going the extra mile for others in the interactions with students and their parents.
VII. The teacher has been able to effectively align the school's / nation's vision and mission with the aspirational goals of the student and parent community.
VIII. Demonstration of a clear-cut idea and vision for change
IX. Designing and implementing actions for achieving the change
Χ. The interventions adopted showed a clear visualisation of the change sought and the process to be followed for making that change happen.
XI. The teacher was able to achieve the change sought successfully and it made a visible difference in the students and community.
XII. The design and delivery of the interventions ensured that the changes were long-term and sustainable in nature.
XIII. The teacher demonstrated agreed community values throughout the initiative.
