President Droupadi Murmu will confer the National Awards to Teachers 2026 on 21 teachers and faculty members from higher education institutions and polytechnics at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on September 5. The awards will recognise educators selected for their contributions to teaching, research, innovation and other areas of academic development.
According to official records, the 21 awardees include 12 faculty members from central higher education institutions, five from state universities and four from polytechnics. Among the five selected from state institutions, three are from government colleges and two are from private colleges. The polytechnic category includes two government and two private institutions.
The nominations for the 2026 awards were invited online through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal at awards.gov.in. The nomination process, conducted from May 26 to July 20, allowed self, institutional and peer nominations under the Jan Bhagidari approach. The selection process was designed to identify educators who have demonstrated strong performance across multiple academic and professional parameters.
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The official criteria include teaching-learning effectiveness, outreach activities, research and innovation, sponsored research, faculty development programmes and consultancy teaching. The selection was conducted in two stages, beginning with evaluation by a Preliminary Search-cum-Screening Committee for the initial shortlisting of nominees, followed by the selection of awardees from the shortlisted candidates by a Committee of Jury.
The National Awards to Teachers framework for higher education institutions and polytechnics was expanded in 2023 with the introduction of two award categories under the broader National Awards to Teachers programme. The move was intended to recognise contributions across higher education and technical education and align the awards with the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020.
The policy emphasises creating a culture of excellence in education through incentives, recognition and encouragement for educators. The 2026 awards therefore seek to acknowledge faculty members whose work has contributed to academic quality, innovation and institutional development across higher education institutions and polytechnics.
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