New Delhi: The Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Education has selected 21 teachers from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and Polytechnics for the National Awards to Teachers (NAT) 2025.

Instituted in 2023, the awards aim to recognize exemplary contributions of faculty members in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasizes motivated and capable teachers as key to educational excellence. The awards, earlier limited to school teachers, were expanded to include higher education and polytechnic faculty under two categories.

Category I covers teachers from HEIs, with sub-categories for Engineering and Technology, Pure Sciences, Medicine, Arts, Social Sciences, and Management, while Category II recognizes Polytechnic teachers.

The awardees include faculty from leading institutions such as IIT Indore, IIT Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), SASTRA Deemed University, IIM Bangalore, Pondicherry University, and BITS Pilani. Others represent institutions from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

Selection was based on parameters including teaching-learning effectiveness, outreach, research, innovation, and faculty development initiatives, with significant weightage given to learning outcomes and outreach activities.

The process involved a two-stage evaluation—initial screening by a Search-cum-Screening Committee followed by final selection by a National Jury. Nominations were invited online at www.awards.gov.in, allowing self, institutional, and peer nominations as part of the Jan Bhagidari initiative.

The awards will be conferred on Teachers' Day to honour outstanding contributions to higher education.