The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the Malti Gyan Peeth Puraskars for the year 2017 today (May 29, 2017) at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the 15 distinguished teachers who were bestowed with the Malti Gyan Peeth Puraskars. The President said that he was delighted to confer the award instituted in the name of Smt. Malti Mohinder Singh Syngle, an eminent educationist and crusader for promoting education for girls whose 96th birthday was today. He also complimented Shri Manoj Singhal, President of Mohinder Singh Syngle Education & Research Society for his commitment to the cause of promoting education and for instituting this award.

The President said that development, to his mind, is not merely the installation of more industrial units; construction of high rise buildings; dams; roads etc. The connotation of development incorporates culmination of people’s adherence to values and their faithfulness to their spiritual and cultural heritage. A holistic education system enables us to put values at the forefront of the educational enterprise in schools and colleges. Such a system is conducive to the ideal development of society. He saw a pivotal role for teachers in this endeavour. The teachers share an onerous responsibility of instilling in the minds of students, rich cultural ethos, tolerance and innovation for the well being of society.

The President said that the teachers who have been awarded today represent the dedicated teachers of our nation. They are the ones who are educating and extending learning opportunities to students. From the Vedic era to modern times, we have had ‘gurus’ who nourished the minds and intellect of our people. Such teachers are there even today. He said that he calls them inspired teachers. They encourage students to be inquisitive about extant knowledge. They prompt them to question the established facts in their disciplines. They do not seek only answers from students; rather they want students to raise questions. Inspired teachers themselves have deep knowledge of their subject areas. They are able to assist students in understanding and appreciating the subject from different perspectives, and in fact, help them in constructing the frontiers of knowledge. The competent and motivated pool of teachers, through their collective efforts, can create a society full of strong minds and courageous hearts, and through them alter the history of a nation. Education is the true alchemy that can bring India to its next golden age.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, Union Minister of Women and Child Development; Shri Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Human Resource and Development; Dr. K. K. Paul, Governor of Uttarakhand and Smt. Aruna Chaudhary, Education Minister, Govt. of Punjab.