Tara Chand Saboo Excellence Awards

Barinder Saluja, Chandigarh : Dec. 16 : Five school teachers of Chandigarh received the 9th Tara Chand Saboo Excellence Awards in School Teaching for the year 2010 at an award function held in PHD House here today.This is the North’s most prestigious award in the field of teaching since 2002.

The Governor of Punjab and Administrator of UT, Chandigarh Shri Shivraj V. Patil was the chief guest on the occasion who commended the Jan Seva Trust for recognizing the contribution of school teachers who are the nation-builders. He said that learning is a lifetime process which starts in the womb and continues till the end of one’s life. The school teachers lay the foundation of a stronger nation by shaping the lives of students in these formative years, Shri Patil said.

Mr. R.K. Saboo, Chairman of the Jan Seva Trust of the Saboo family informed that the award was instituted in the memory of his father late Shri Tara Chand Saboo who himself had been a staunch supporter of school education.

The Trust had been recognizing the school teachers from tri-city every year since 2002 with total cash awards of Rs.1.50 lakh along with a citation and a trophy, after a scrutiny by an independent jury, informed Anuradha Saboo, Director of the Tara Chand Saboo Excellence Awards in School Teaching.

This year, the jury selected Ms. Madhu Bahl of KB DAV Senior Secondary Public School, for the Tara Chand Saboo Excellence Award for Life Time Achievement which carried a trophy, citation and a cash award of Rs.75,000. Mrs. Bahl started a school in 1996 with 70 students and 7 rooms. Now, her school has arouind 2600 students with a building of 80 rooms.

The other three awards of Rs.25,000 each along with a trophy and citation were given to Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed and Ms. Kandy Khanna, both of Vivek High School, were the recipient of the Excellence Award for School Teaching for Secondary and Primary classes respectively, and Mrs. Astinder Kaur of Govt. Model School, Sector 22C, Chandigarh, received the Excellence Award for Teaching Economically Underprivileged Children.

This year, a Special Jury’s Award was presented to Mrs. Vidya Kurekar, a teacher of Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Chandigarh for her extra-ordinary commitment and dedication towards mentally challenged.

Mr. R K Saboo, the Trustee Chairman of the Jan Seva Trust, spoke about the necessity of honouring these unsung champions of our country’s future for selflessly, tirelessly and patiently nurturing our children for the challenges of future.

Speaking on the occasion former Judge of the Supreme Court of India Mr Kuldip Singh who chaired the board of jury for the selection of the awardees, said that the Awards are not

The jury this year comprised of Mr. Kuldip Sigh, Retd. Judge of Supreme Court of India, Mr. Raja Boss, Resident Editor of Times of India, Mr. David Hilton, Principal of Hilton Public School, Dehradun, and Mr. Anil Nehru, senior corporate executive and consultant.

Previous Recipients of this prestigious awards were :-

2002 Mrs. Suchinta Khorana Principal, Shishu Niketan School, Sector 22;

2003 Mr. Karan Singh Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 33;

2004 Mr. Ram Kumar Sharma Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector l-6

2005 Mr. Joginder Pal Singh Principal, St Kabir Public School
2006 Mr. Bahadur Singh Principal, Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 56;

2007 Mr. Harold Carvar Principal, St Stephens Public School
2008 Mrs. Shashi Banerjee Principal, Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 15, Panchkula
2009 Mr. Pritam Singh Serai Director ofSatlui Public School, Panchkula

The function was marked in the start by the the students of Bharti Vidya Bahvan, Chandigarh singing the welcome song & ended by the National Anthem.