National Teachers Award 2026: President Droupadi Murmu will confer National Awards to Teachers (NAT) on 21 teachers and faculties of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and polytechnics at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on September 5, 2026.
According to official records, 12 faculties from central HEIs, five from state universities (three government and two private colleges), and four from polytechnics (including two government and two private polytechnics), have been selected for the awards this year.
The nominations for NAT 2026 were invited online through Rashtriya Puraskar Portal, awards.gov.in, and included provisions for self, institutional, and peer nomination as part of 'Jan Bhagidari'. Nominations were invited from May 26 to July 20, 2026, according to official information.
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According to the official document, the award is conferred on exemplary teachers or faculty members and the selection is based on their performance, as adjudged against several parameters including teaching-learning effectiveness, outreach activities, research and innovation, and sponsored research or faculty development programmes or consultancy teaching.
The official document noted that the selection procedure involved a two-step process:
- Evaluation by Preliminary Search-cum Screening Committee for initial shortlisting of nominees
- Selection of awardees from the shortlisted nominees by a Committee of Jury
As per official information, it was decided in 2023 to institute two categories of awards for HEIs and polytechnics under the umbrella of the National Awards to Teachers, expanding the scope to align with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
NEP 2020 envisaged that incentives such as rewards and recognitions must be conferred to cultivate a culture of excellence in the education ecosystem, the official announcement noted.