National Teachers’ Award 2025: Professors Who Turned Classrooms Into Launchpads of Dreams

National Teachers’ Award 2025: From innovation labs to counseling support, meet professors honored for transforming higher education.

When Prof. Urvish Soni enters his polytechnic classroom in Ahmedabad, it no longer feels like a place of rote lectures. Instead, there are buzzing 3D printers, animated student debates, and prototypes being tested. His “One Student, One Skill” initiative has turned inactive learners into creators, equipping them with hands-on learning that match industry needs. This approach has Soni a place among 21 higher-education faculty honored with the National Teachers’ Award 2025.

President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards which was a historic moment for Indian education space as for second year in a row, teachers from universities, IITs, IIMs, polytechnics, and central institutions were recognized with school teachers. “Smart classrooms may help, but it is the smart teacher who senses the heart of a child and gives them wings,” President remarked. 

Among this year’s awardees, Prof. Vijay Kumar Pandey from Banaras Hindu University has helped mathematics shed its awesome reputation among children. By nurturing a research culture and mentoring students from small towns, Pandey sir has proven that even difficult subjects can become gateways to discovery.

At Aligarh Muslim University, Prof. Vibha Sharma uses literature not only to teach language, but to engage children in community assignments and leadership roles. She also shares a strong bond with students.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Proshanto Kumar Saha of Rajiv Gandhi University has gone beyond his teaching job. Through his Neuropsychology Lab, Saha has offered counseling as well as emotional support to students suffering with trauma.

These stories of teaching show how higher education in India is being rewritten by teachers who refuse to remain confined to just black-boards and monotonous lectures.

Ministry of Education in a statement states that it received more than 10,000 nominations this year, out of which 45 teachers were selected, with 21 from higher education institutions. Each winner received a silver medal, a certificate, and ₹50,000 in cash.

Speaking to All India Radio, Prof. Soni said, “When my students hold a prototype in their hands they see themselves as creators, not just learners. That is the reward beyond any award.” Prof. Pandey added, “I come from a small town myself. When I see a student from a village clear a national exam or publish research, it feels like rewriting my own journey.”

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