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Two Delhi teachers among 47 selected for national teachers award 2020
A primary teacher at a North Delhi Municipal Corporation school in Adarsh Nagar is among the 47 teachers selected for the national teachers’ award this year.
For the last 21 years, 47-year-old Surender Singh travels from Haryana’s Sonipat to north-west Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar in a DTC bus spending nearly two hours every day with one motive in mind - to help children from marginalised families get a better education.
Singh, a primary teacher at a North Delhi Municipal Corporation school in Sarai Pillai thala in Adarsh Nagar, is among the 47 teachers selected for the national teachers’ award 2020. He is also a mentor teacher with 11 North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run schools under him. He is known for his innovative idea of modifying the nibs of fountain pens to help children improve their handwriting in their initial days at school.
“A majority of the students who come to us are from very poor families and they do not get any guidance at home. When they come to us, they don’t even know how to hold a pencil. To help them write better, I came up with this idea of changing the nibs of fountain pens and make them sharp as wooden pens that we would use earlier with ink. I cut the nib with a pair of scissors and rub them on a stone to sharpen their edges. I also distribute ink pots to students regularly. It helped them a lot in improving their handwriting. Teachers from many other schools adopted my idea,” he said.
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Singh had also helped hundreds of his students to crack the entrance exam of Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalayas (popularly known as RPVVs) - a system of schools run by the Directorate of Education (DoE) for class 6. “I hire a bus and take them to the entrance centres as well,” he said.
When asked if he does not get demotivated since there are regular complaints of delay in distribution of salaries at the North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run schools, he said, “It’s definitely problematic for us all but we can’t stop working. We have a huge responsibility as teachers.”
Ira Singhal, deputy commissioner of north civic body, said, “It’s a huge moment of pride for the corporation. We are hoping for more teachers from municipal corporation schools to get recognised in future.”
Jyoti Arora, principal of Mount Abu Public School in Rohini sector B-8, is the only one who won the award from across the CBSE-affiliated schools in the country this year. The 51-year-old has been working in the education sector for the last 27 years.
Arora is known for several innovative community service projects including converting an old school van into a 3D lab. “We have installed a 3D screen on the bus with content on health, science and hygiene. The bus goes to nearby MCD schools and slum areas accompanied by some teachers and gives a digital exposure to kids there. The kids in municipal schools and slum areas are deprived of technology. It gives immense satisfaction to see those kids wearing 3D glasses and watching content on day-to-day life things such as photosynthesis and cleanliness,” she said.
Besides, Arora also conducts several programmes on sustainable development goals in her schools and has also written books on healthy food habits for kids. “With every recognition comes responsibility. The award will give us the motivation to do more in future,” she added.
The Union Education Ministry, earlier known as Human Resource Development Ministry, gives national teachers awards every year recognising their achievements in the field of education.
The teachers apply for the award online and get shortlisted at three levels - district, state and national. The department of school education and literacy of the education ministry constitutes an independent jury at the national level to select the awardees. This year, 153 teachers were shortlisted and 47 of them were selected for the award.
