NCTE observes 31st foundation day in New Delhi; Dharmendra Pradhan highlights teacher role in NEP 2020

The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) observed its 31st foundation day on August 17 at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi. This year’s foundation day was held on the theme “Empowered Teachers, Empowered India”. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attended the event as the chief guest.

In his address, Pradhan underlined the role of teachers in achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. He said teachers are central to bridging learning gaps in schools and higher education and urged them to guide students in pursuing passion-driven careers.

“While conveying the heartfelt greetings at this festive occasion, Shri. Pradhan reiterated that NEP 2020 is a collective national vision, where empowered teachers are essential to minimise existing learning gaps among the school and higher education students and also emphasised that teachers should motivate students to choose passion over profession,” the press release said.

The programme was attended by more than 250 participants, including teacher educators, institutional heads, and students. Three mentors from the NMM were felicitated as “Star Mentors.” The event also included a cultural presentation by ITEP students.

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Focus on teachers’ role under NEP 2020

NCTE Chairperson Pankaj Arora, in his address, presented the Council’s initiatives, including the Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST), and the National Mission for Mentoring (NMM). He also announced the revival of two academic journals — Anweshika (Hindi) and the Indian Journal of Teacher Education (IJTE).

Senior officials from the Ministry of Education and higher education regulators participated in the event. Prachi Pandey, Joint Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy, highlighted teachers’ role in implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Kumar stresses multilingual classrooms, regulation

Former UGC Chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar spoke on multilingual classrooms and the evolving regulatory framework under the Higher Education Commission of India. National Educational Technology Forum Chairman Anil Sahasrabudhe emphasised technology integration, Indian Knowledge System (IKS), and NEP-aligned curriculum in teacher education.