Teachers’ Day, or Shikshak Diwas is celebrated in India on September 5, a month ahead of the World Teachers’ Day. This date marks the birth anniversary of the great philosopher, scholar, and Bharat Ratna Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who served as the first Vice-President and the second President of the country.

World Teacher’s Day, on the other hand, is observed on October 5, a month later. Apart from this, many countries celebrate Teachers’ Day on different dates.

Teachers’ Day in India and World Teachers’ Day: The key difference

Radhakrishnan became President of India in 1962. After that, he was visited by a few students of him with a request of celebrating his birthday. Instead, Dr Radhakrishnan asked them to dedicate it to teachers. Thus, celebrations of September 5 as Teachers’ Day started in India.

World Teachers’ day is a joint initiative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Education International.

On this day, in 1966, the 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendation concerning the status of teachers, regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers was adopted.

It also marks the adoption of the UNESCO recommendation concerning the status of higher-education teaching personnel by the UNESCO General Conference in 1997.

Celebrations of World Teachers’ Day started October 5 onwards.