New Delhi: Devising formula games to make mathematical concepts easy, building a science park, going out of the way for the speedy construction of a school and physically reaching out to students in distant areas of Kargil during the pandemic are among the efforts that earned 44 teachers National Teaching Awards.
The awards were conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind during a virtual ceremony where a film detailing their efforts and achievements was also shown.
Mamata Paliwal who is a mathematics teacher at the Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School in Bhiwani, Haryana, got the award for her innovative methods in making the learning of mathematics easier.
“I try to teach mathematics to children in a manner that is fun and simple to understand. I also devise formula games for them to learn certain mathematical concepts,” she said.
Kamal Kishor Sharma, the principal of the Government Senior Secondary School in the Kandaghat district of Himachal Pradesh is credited with going out of the way to ensure speedy construction of a school building.
“The land on which the school was built had many stakeholders, due to which no construction work was being done. I went door-to-door and convinced the stakeholders and also collected funds for it. During the pandemic, I went door-to-door to discuss the importance of education for children and also to solve students’ doubts,” he said.
Deputy Principal of Delhi’s Government Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya Vipin Kumar has bagged the award for providing additional help to students who did not have the means to attend coaching classes for competitive exams.
“I provided such students with necessary study notes and also tried to guide them. Thirty-five students from the school cleared the IIT-JEE Mains and NEET exam in a year. I also prepared a team of students from Delhi government schools for an Olympiad in Moscow. The students secured a bronze medal at the event,” he said.
Muhammad Ali who teaches at the Government Middle School located in Kargil, Ladakh, went the extra mile for his students during the pandemic by physically reaching out to each one of them living in far-flung areas.
State Teacher Award and Auraiya Ratna awardee Manish Kumar is a science teacher in a pre-secondary school at Shivganj in Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya. Kumar started campaigns like Young Changemakers and Child Achievers for the students.
He has started work on building a science park to help children in their learning. Before this, there was no such park in the Kanpur division in which children could play and learn at the same time.
The National Awards to Teachers were first instituted in 1958 to recognise the excellence and commitment of teachers in shaping the minds as well as the future of the youth. From the mid-60s, September 5 came to be the fixed date for the function on account of the birthday of Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, former president of India and an eminent educationist.
The award is to accord public recognition to meritorious teachers working in elementary and secondary schools. For 2021, online self-nomination process was followed by a three-tier selection process at the district, state and national levels.
