President Droupadi Murmu will confer the National Awards to Teachers (NAT) 2026 on 21 and faculty members from higher education institutions and polytechnics on September 5, marking Teachers’ Day and the ceremony is scheduled to take place at Vigyan Bhawan.
As per the official announcement, the awards this year cover 21 educators across different categories. This includes 12 faculty members from central higher education institutions, five from state universities with three from government and two from private colleges and four from polytechnics, split evenly between government and private institutions.
Selection Process and Nomination Timeline
The nomination process for NAT 2026 was conducted online through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal between May 26 and July 20. The process allowed self-nominations, institutional recommendations and peer nominations, reflecting a more participatory approach.
The selection is carried out in two stages. First, a Preliminary Search-cum-Screening Committee reviews all entries and prepares a shortlist. This is followed by a final selection by a jury panel, which decides the awardees.
The candidates are assessed on several parameters, including teaching effectiveness, research output, innovation, outreach work and contributions to faculty development or consultancy.
Expanded Scope to Higher Education
The National Awards to Teachers were expanded in 2023 to include faculty from higher education institutions and polytechnics but until then the awards were limited to school teachers.
The change aligns with the goals of the National Education Policy 2020, which emphasises recognising excellence across all levels of education.
This year’s awardees come from a wide range of disciplines from engineering and sciences to medicine, management, arts and communication and faculty from institutions such as IITs, IISERs, AIIMS, central universities and polytechnics are part of the list, reflecting the diversity of contributions being acknowledged.
The awards aim to recognise impactful teaching and encourage innovation in higher education, while highlighting the role educators play in shaping both academic and research ecosystems.