DEHRADUN: Pradeep Negi of Govt Inter College BHEL Ranipur in Haridwar is the lone Indian to be in the list of top 50 teachers competing for the coveted 2018 Global Teacher Prize.
Polio didn’t stop the 49-year-old school teacher from pursuing his goal of inspiring disabled children. Before completing Bachelor of Education, Negi did post graduation in Economics, History and English. His wife is a lecturer in Haridwar, and the couple has two kids.
In his 17-year career, Negi has spread awareness among weaker sections of the society about gender equality and used information and communications technology (ICT) to make classes interactive and fun. “I had submitted my entry for the competition and have been selected in the list of top 50,” Negi tells Hindustan Times.
With a cash award of US $1 million, the prize is presented annually to an ‘exceptional’ teacher by the Varkey Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that works to improve education for the underprivileged children across the world. Nearly 30,000 teachers participated in the Global Teacher Prize. Of the 50 finalists, 10 shortlisted candidates will be invited to Dubai where winners will be announced in March.
Recognition is not new to Negi, who won the National Award of ICT in 2014. If he wins the award, Negi plans to utilise the prize amount for the welfare and better training of students of government schools. “When I was transferred to this school in 2008, there were only 80 students and now there are 400. I went from door to door requesting families to send their girls to the school. I have developed ways of interactive classroom training,” he recollects. “I will use the money to provide better technology and equipment for government school students .”
{{/usCountry}}Recognition is not new to Negi, who won the National Award of ICT in 2014. If he wins the award, Negi plans to utilise the prize amount for the welfare and better training of students of government schools. “When I was transferred to this school in 2008, there were only 80 students and now there are 400. I went from door to door requesting families to send their girls to the school. I have developed ways of interactive classroom training,” he recollects. “I will use the money to provide better technology and equipment for government school students .”
{{/usCountry}}The wheelchair bound teacher has funded computer education of students in private institutes. “I want them to learn the technology and make a living.”
Negi has trained more than 1,200 teachers, developed multimedia content and e-content for NCERT and designed websites for schools. He blogs about friendly ways of teaching students. “Computer is a very strong medium. Most of the kids here are economically weak. So, computer and internet learning give them an opportunity to develop a career. Many of my students are working in private companies and are self-reliant,” he asserts.