Tech-savvy Mrunal Ganjale wins National Teachers Award; only one from state

Ganjale has been working as a teacher for the last 14 years. She was appointed to Pimpalgaon Zilla Parishad School in 2018. She then started using technology, such as virtual field visits, websites etc., in the classroom, which encourages students to be more attentive.

Mumbai: Mrunal Ganjale, a teacher at Pimpalgaon Mhangule School under Zilla Parishad at Ambegaon in Pune district, has been honoured with the National Teachers Award for this year, announced by the Central Education Ministry.

Mrunal Ganjale with her students. During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Ganjale developed a website for her school and provided online education to the students without missing out on a single day. Recently, she was also honoured with Sharad Pawar Inspire Fellowship given by Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan for the same. (HT PHOTO)

She is known for her technological innovations in education. This year, the ministry announced this award to 50 teachers across the nation. Ganjale is the only one from the state this year to win this award.

These awards will be distributed on the national Teachers’ Day, September 5, at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The award consists of ₹50,000 in cash, a certificate, and a medal.

Ganjale has been working as a teacher for the last 14 years. She was appointed to Pimpalgaon Zilla Parishad School in 2018. She then started using technology, such as virtual field visits, websites etc., in the classroom, which encourages students to be more attentive.

“When I joined this school, around 450 students were taking education in this school, which is run well by the teachers. I love technology and started using it in education after inspiring my fellow teachers from other parts of the state,” said Ganjale.

“This technology experiment helps students understand basic concepts easily and this way they enjoy learning as well. So, I took this opportunity and started developing more ways to apply technology in education,” added Ganjale.

Ganjale has received the National Information Technology Teachers Award in 2019 and the State Adarsh Teacher Award in 2021.

Talking about her experience in teaching, Ganjale said, “I arrange virtual field visits for the students, and this helps them easily understand the topics. While teaching the history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, I arranged a virtual visit to Shivneri Fort with the help of my fellow teacher.

“Using the concept of virtual visit, students of Pimpalgaon School have visited museums in Russia and the USA,” said Ganjale.

“My students are always participating in virtual student exchange programmes. Our students have virtually visited schools from other states in the country as well as the schools from the USA, Thailand, and Taiwan. This helps students build their confidence as well as participate in group activities,” added Ganjale.

During the Covid-19 Pandemic, Ganjale developed a website for her school and provided online education to the students without missing out on a single day. Recently, she was also honoured with Sharad Pawar Inspire Fellowship given by Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan for the same.

Talking about only one teacher from state winning the award, Madhav Suryavanshi, convenor of Shikshan Vikas Manch, an educational think tank in the state, said, “Considering Maharashtra’s standing in primary education, it’s disheartening that we only secured one award this year, compared to the three last years.

“In contrast, states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh have consistently received multiple awards,” added Suryavanshi.