NEW DELHI: For a primary school teacher in rural Maharashtra, it was a million dollar moment as he was named winner of the 2020 Global Teacher Prize that had more than 12,000 contenders from over 140 nations.
That Ranjitsinh Disale has a heart of gold became evident from the fact that he resolved to share a whopping 50% of the prize money with nine other fellow finalists.
Hailing from Paritewadi village in Solapur district, Disale, 32, won the $1 million prize for his efforts to promote girls’ education and help trigger a quick-response coded textbook revolution in the country.
A video clip of the ceremony, capturing the moment Disale was named the winner and his beaming parents, trended on Twitter.
Disale’s interventions since 2009 helped kids access books in local languages. He embeded textbooks with unique QR codes to give students access to audio poems, stories and assignments.
Teachers, he said, are the real changemakers.
“They always believe in giving and sharing, which is why, I will share 50% of the prize money among my fellow finalists.” Disale said.