The purpose of the State Awards to Teachers is to celebrate the unique contributions of some of the finest teachers in the state and to honor those who have improved the quality of school education and enriched the lives of their students.

Each award consists of a cash prize of ₹ 100,000 and a citation.

There are 10 State Awards available. They are distributed as follows: Primary Teacher: 2 awards (1 in each district) Secondary Teacher: 4 awards (2 in each district) High School Headmaster: 2 awards (1 in each district) Higher Secondary Teacher: 1 award (1 in the entire state) Higher Secondary Principal: 1 award (1 in the entire state) 2 awards are reserved for differently-abled teachers, special educators, and heads of Schools.

Eligibility criteria include: School teachers, special educators, and heads of schools working in recognized government or aided schools. In-service teachers with at least 5 years of regular teaching service as of 30th June 2019. Regular teachers and heads of schools without any pending vigilance/criminal cases. Retired teachers, contractual teachers, para teachers, part-time instructors, and NSQF instructors are not eligible.

Teachers can apply by submitting a self-nomination form available on the Directorate of Education's website. Applications can be submitted by hand or email along with a portfolio that includes supporting materials like documents, reports, photographs, audios, or videos.

Recommendations are done as follows: Government Secondary & Higher Secondary Schools: by the Head of the Institution. Government Primary Schools: by the Assistant District Educational Inspectors of respective Talukas. Principals/Headmasters of Government Schools: by the DDE of the concerned zones. Aided Schools: by the Chairman of the Managing Committee.

The evaluation process includes two criteria: Objective criteria (20% weightage) Performance-based criteria (80% weightage), including initiatives to improve learning outcomes, innovative experiments, organization of extra-curricular activities, use of Teaching Learning Material, etc.

The DSC is responsible for the initial scrutiny of applications, physical verification of information, evaluation and marking of applicants, and shortlisting candidates. The DSC is chaired by the Deputy Director of Education and includes the District Education Officer and a reputed academician nominated by the Collector.

The SSC conducts a fresh assessment of nominations sent by the DSC, requiring nominees to make a presentation. The SSC selects the final awardees, ensuring the selection of 8 regular and 2 special category teachers.

All heads of government and government-aided schools must inform teachers under their control about the State Awards to ensure eligible teachers can register for the awards.