New Delhi, Sep 5 (UNI) President Pranab Mukherjee today presented National Awards to meritorious teachers from across the country on the occasion of Teachers’ Day. Addressing the awardee teachers, at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan, the President congratulated the distinguished teachers who had been bestowed with the prestigious National Teachers Awards for their excellence and performance and the manner in which they had instilled skills in their students and made them ready to face the challenges of life. He conveyed his ‘Guru Pranam’ to all teachers on Teachers’ Day. The President said the Teachers’ Day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who was a great scholar and educationist. Quoting Dr Radhakrishnan, he said, “You cannot make or build the nation by just bricks; you have to establish the minds of young people and then alone can the nation building take place”. The President said the Guru-Shishya parampara is integral to our ancient civilisation. 'In ancient days, the Guru's parting advice to students was that they should be truthful, virtuous and not deviate from their conviction,' he said. The President said as a visitor to institutions of higher learning, he had repeatedly stressed on the need to focus on improving the quality of education. He said unless we build a knowledge society we cannot find our rightful place in the comity of nations. The President said if the foundation is not strong, the structure built on it cannot be strong. 'Teachers thus have a crucial social responsibility during the formative years of the children. In ancient India, for a long period of time, India was a leading centre of higher education and ancient Universities like Nalanda, Taxila used to attract mighty minds. This position needs to be revived,' he said. UNI AR AE RJ 1921