NEW DELHI: It was a sea of happy faces at Delhi's Vigyan Bhavan on Saturday as distinguished educators from across the country were recognised, with their families watching them with pride.
The New Indian Express caught up with a few of the 82 teachers who were honoured by President Droupadi Murmu.
Mahadev Hanamant Shinde works as a special educator at Gujarati Samaj Special School in South Goa.
He has been recognised for his transformative service in special and inclusive education for intellectually disabled children.
“I have received multiple awards, including the Goa State Best Teacher award in the past. Winning the national award was my long-time dream and I am overjoyed to be receiving one today,” he told TNIE.
Shinde coached the Indian Floor Hockey team to four gold medals and one bronze medal during the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games. He also trains older students in life skills and employment-oriented ventures.
“Working for these kids is a passion for me. I have developed 14 activity sourcebooks, teacher handbooks, and tablet-based digital learning resources for children with disabilities and voluntarily transferred all copyrights to SCERT Goa so that many other students can benefit.”
Iftakar Khan, a drawing teacher at Government Inter College in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, is relieved to note that his subject has captured national attention.
“When I began my career at Ballia, drawing was associated with paintings on the walls or on sign boards! I had to break the stigma associated with it using a lot of creativity. I started using art to make things simpler for students from Class VI to X in every subject and get them interested. I take my students outdoors and got them interested in biodiversity.”
His students work in the Design department of IIT and the National Institute of Design, he says with pride.
Rathna Kumari S, headmistress at Government Higher Primary School, Samatagaaru, in Shiva Hosanagara Taluk, is overjoyed.
“The award is a big surprise. I teach students from Class 1 to 7. I have always tried my best to make learning a joyful learning experience for students.”
The remote school has just 56 students.
“Only four students are from this village while the rest are from 15 surrounding villages. It is a big honour for our school to be showcased at the national level like this.”
Stating that her entire team, including her colleague L U Ankita, who was present at the award ceremony, were responsible for her achievement, she modestly says, “Since I am the senior most here and will be completing 25 years of teaching in the same school, I have been selected for the award.”
Gave me goosebumps
J Amutha, a school teacher at PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 2 in Madurai, says, “Receiving the award is a goose bumps moment for me,” she said.
Her parents had come down to watch her receive it from the President. She was a part of the Phonic workbook development at the national level at Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.
“I worked to bring out foundational literacy especially in Hindi by developing reading cards and low cost learning teaching material.”
Through NCC, she has organised many community outreach programmes, including rallies and street plays on environmental issues.
Sunil Kumar K P of Government Higher Secondary School in Irikkur, Kannur, has brought in innovative methods to promote the holistic development of his students.
“My approach has been to build confidence in students. Every three months, I hold an open discussion session for students from Class 8 to 10 to make them speak up about any issue bothering them. This would be held after class hours and students really liked them. We also had debating sessions regularly.”