New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- The Delhi government on Saturday felicitated 118 teachers and principals with state awards on Teachers' Day, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta saying the government is working to improve education by addressing gaps in school infrastructure as well as curriculum.

Addressing the Shikshak Mahakumbh - State Teachers Awards 2026 at Thyagaraj Stadium, Gupta said the government aims to take education to "great heights" and make significant progress, but the process had to begin by addressing basic facilities in schools.

"We want to take education to great heights and make a lot of progress, but the previous governments did not do anything in 12 years. So, after coming to power, we have had to start working from a very low level," she said.

Gupta said the government was working on repairing toilets, ensuring water facilities, maintenance, whitewashing and other repair works in schools.

"Many schools had very poor toilet facilities. Once, I went for an inspection to a very good and reputed school, which the previous government used to boast about. When I saw it, there was no gate in the toilet. How would our girl students have been using it?" she said. Apart from infrastructure, the government is also working on courses and curriculum, Gupta said, adding that the Education Department and Education Minister Ashish Sood were continuously working on these issues and progress was being made.

The chief minister said teachers were the strong foundation of society and did not merely impart textbook knowledge, but also instilled values, skills, confidence, a sense of duty and the right direction in students.

She said the Delhi government was committed to ensuring quality education for every child and had allocated Rs 19,148 crore for education in the 2026-27 financial year.

Gupta said 170 modern language labs were being established in schools to strengthen students' language and communication skills. Of these, 70 would be in CM Shri Schools and 100 in other government schools.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.