JAMMU, Aug 28: As many as 79 teachers from public and private schools across India have been shortlisted for the national finals of the inaugural Shiv Nadar Foundation–Oxford Saïd India’s Best Teachers’ Awards 2026, following an impressive response of more than 9,400 registrations from 32 States and Union Territories.
The shortlisted finalists, including teachers from Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Madhya Pradesh, among other regions, will travel to Greater Noida from September 3 to 5. The national finals will be held on September 4, 2026, at Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR.
The finalists will compete across eight subject categories—Business Studies and Entrepreneurship, Computer Science, Economics, English, Environmental Science, Geography, Mathematics and Physics. The awards have been instituted jointly by the Shiv Nadar Foundation and Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, to recognise outstanding teachers of Classes IX to XII for excellence in classroom practice, innovative pedagogy, student impact and leadership within their schools and communities.
The selection process has placed emphasis not merely on academic qualifications or years of service, but on tangible evidence of how teachers use their subject knowledge to create effective and engaging learning experiences. The finalists were identified through a multi-stage evaluation based on subject-specific judging frameworks.
The evaluation examined several aspects of teaching, including conceptual accuracy, classroom methodology, assessment and feedback, inclusion, student engagement, evidence of learning and the potential for successful teaching practices to be adapted or replicated in other educational settings.
At the national finals, each finalist will present their work before a subject-specific jury comprising academics from the University of Oxford, leading Indian academics and experts from the wider education sector. The presentations will be followed by questions from the jury, with the final assessment determining the national winners.
From the 79 finalists, 16 teachers will be selected as winners, with recognition across the eight subject categories and public and private school streams. The awards seek to highlight the diversity of teaching practices across India’s education system, with entries coming from schools in major metropolitan centres as well as smaller cities and communities.
Beyond recognition, the awards also provide a significant professional-development opportunity. The 16 winners will receive access to a five-week hybrid professional development programme, followed by a fully funded scholarship for a bespoke one-week residential learning and development programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
The Oxford programme will provide the winning teachers an opportunity for intensive learning, reflection and peer exchange, connecting their classroom experiences in India with broader perspectives on leadership, pedagogy and educational transformation.
The initiative has been designed not simply as a competition, but as a long-term investment in teachers and their ability to influence colleagues, schools and communities through effective educational practices.
The national finals will also bring together educators from diverse regions, disciplines and school systems, providing a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences and creating a wider national conversation around excellence in teaching.
Founded in 1994, the Shiv Nadar Foundation has established institutions and initiatives across school education, higher education, rural education, literacy and the arts, with a focus on long-term institution-building and education-led social transformation.