President Ram Nath Kovind presented the National Teachers’ Awards 2020 to 47 teachers from across the country in the first virtual awards’ ceremony, held on Saturday, on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.
Mainpuri Primary School head teacher Mohammed Ishrat Ali sported a big smile as the list of his achievements was read out before President Kovind and HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
Ali and two other teachers from Uttar Pradesh – Soharamau Primary School (Nawabganj, Unnao) head teacher Snehil Pandey and SD Inter College Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar) principal Vikas Kumar were among the 47 who were felicitated for their contributions.
Ali has encouraged gender parity in many ways including setting up a girls’ football team. “I was thrilled as a short video clip of good practices done in our school was played. It was heartening to see President Ram Nath Kovind and HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank watching the video,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Ali has encouraged gender parity in many ways including setting up a girls’ football team. “I was thrilled as a short video clip of good practices done in our school was played. It was heartening to see President Ram Nath Kovind and HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank watching the video,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Getting the award is like a dream come true. I am happy that my hard work was recognised by the government of India,” Ali said.
Ali, with the help of a few teachers, has brought new life to the school. He has introduced the latest educational technology such as the use of ICT to create a virtual teacher with recorded videos, methods of collaborative learning and the use of unique teaching/learning aids.
Snehil Pandey said, “I am happy to get the award. All credit goes to my students, guardians, colleagues and family. During the lockdown period, I ensured that regular teaching continued in my school.”
Pandey has transformed her school with innovative and joyful learning activities, with emphasis on gender parity, the use of ICT for learning support and regular early-grade reading practices.
“I created a happy learning environment to make education all the more joyful. I use tablets, laptops and projectors to make classroom teaching more interactive,” she said.
Vikas Kumar has done inspiring work in infrastructure upgrade at his institution, teaching of science through innovative methodologies and the creation of useful educational videos in science to support student learning.
He has used ICT to increase the outreach of educational videos in physics and other science based e-content. He has targeted improvements in enrolments especially of girls to his school. He has kept students updated with current events and encouraged learning through ecological projects such as eco-pits, eco-dustbins, solar caps and ICT tools available on the web.
The independent jury at the national level reviewed the list of 153 teachers as shortlisted by all the 36 State and UT Selection Committees and seven Organisation Selection Committees through Video Conferencing. The jury considered the applications and presentations made by all shortlisted teachers and after detailed deliberations recommended the names of the 47 candidates for the National Awards.