New Delhi, (DHNS): Schoolteachers from Karnataka have won as many as 16 national awards for their outstanding contribution to education.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu gave away the awards at a Teachers’ Day function here on Tuesday. The award carries a silver medal, a certificate and a cheque for Rs 50,000.

Rathnamma B M got the national award for her contribution to increasing the enrollment in her school and checking the dropout rate. She is an assistant teacher at the Government Model Primary School at Mayasandra in Bengaluru.

“She is intelligent, hardworking, honest, dutiful and a sincere teacher,” the citation says of Rathnamma.

V Ashok Kumar, who teaches at the Government Lower Primary School at Cinnenahalli in Srirangapatna taluk of Madya district, won the national award for “excellent teaching” and “working hard” to increase the enrollment in his school.

Assistant teacher S R Achutharao from the Government Lower Primary School, Kadur, in Chikkamagaluru district, and M Krishnappa, headmaster at the Government Primary School at Pulagurkote in Srinivasapur taluk of in Kolar district, also got the national awards.

Other winners from the state are Kumara H C, assistant master at the Government Lower Primary School at Soppugudde, Thirthahalli, Shivamogga, and Diwakar Parmeshwar Hegde, assistant teacher at Government Higher Primary School at Neelemav, Siddapur, Uttara Kannada

H Govindappa, a graduate assistant teacher at the Government Deaf School, Ballari Cantonment, won the national award under the special category for making an exemplary contribution to the field of teaching.

In the secondary school category, the national awards went to Purandaranarayana Bhat K from Vidyabodhini High School, Balila, Dakshina Kannada district; Pandit K Balure from PV High School, Ghal Borol, Humnabad, Bidar district, and G M Manjunatha, senior teacher at the Government Pre-University College High School, Srinivasapur, Kolar district.

Sanskrit teachers Gangadhar R Bode of Kendriya Vidyalaya, 18th Cross Malleswaram, Bengaluru, and Shridhar N Hegde from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Rajnagar, Hubballi, also received the award.

Other awardees from Karnataka are Ramachandra G Deshpande from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Hangal, Haveri; Murlidhar Shingri from Government High School, Karkihalli, Koppal; Gulzar I Dambal from Government High School, Thyamagondlu, Bengaluru, and cluster resource person Prashantha G, Kanakapura, Ramanagaram district.

Naidu launched a web portal, Diksha, that seeks to empower teachers with training and classroom resources. It will also share information on ‘teacher practice, observation, assessment and evaluation tools.’