President A P J Abdul Kalam on Friday said the country's education policy should aim at transforming India into a developed nation by 2020.
"For India to get transformed into a developed nation by 2020, education is an important component. Our education policy should ensure that India is transformed into a developed nation," he said, giving away national awards to 282 teachers on the occasion of Teachers' Day.
Stating that teachers were an integral part for social development, Kalam said good teachers could generate enlightened minds and instil confidence and willpower in students to help them realise their dreams.
The President said it is important to ensure that teachers were provided with all facilities so that they could impart proper teaching to students.
He said the right kind of environment should be created for teachers so that they loved their profession.
Kalam said the awardees from across the country represented 200 million students.
"Your excellence should not stay with you. It should spread," he said, while giving away the awards consisting of a citation, a medal and Rs 25,000 in cash.