Newsmaker

Ranjitsinh Disale, a primary teacher from Maharashtra's Solapur has recently won the Global Teacher Award 2020. It is a proud moment for India as the award that comes with a USC 1 Million or INR 7 crore prize money is a global level recognition for the contribution to the field of education. Ranjitsinh got this great achievement due to his noble work of helping girls, most of them from poor tribal communities, at a village school in western India.

He was honoured for having "transformed the life chances" of girls at the Zilla Parishad Primary School in Paritewadi, in Maharashtra state, prize organizers said. As soon as the award was announced, Disale immediately said he would share the $1 million prize money with the nine other finalists. He said, "Teachers are the real change-makers who are changing the lives of their students with a mix of chalk and challenges. They always believe in giving and sharing."

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the event was organized virtually but yet the moment was as precious as it would have been physically. Stephen Fry, a renowned actor announced the prize for the USD 1 Million Global Teacher Award, sending a wave of happiness miles away in India as Disale was overwhelmed with happiness. Watch the great moment of Stephen Fry awarding the price to Disale:

Wow! Here’s THE MOMENT Stephen Fry announced Ranjitsinh Disale as the Winner of The Global Teacher Prize 2020! Congratulations Ranjit! Watch here: https://t.co/9t5GXaIJ58 @ranjitdisale @stephenfry #GTP2020 #TeachersMatter #globalteacherprize #India @NHM_London @UNESCO pic.twitter.com/eQjSosGQwY

— Global Teacher Prize (@TeacherPrize) December 3, 2020

Talking about Disale's journey, he started teaching at the school in 2009, when it was in a rundown building next to a cattle shed, as per the organizers. The curriculum in the school was not even in the girls' main language, Kannada. Disale moved to the village, learned the language and translated the class textbooks.

He also introduced digital learning tools and came up with personalized programmes for each student. His system of QR Coded Textbooks is now used across India. Well, not only this, but Disale also initiated environmental projects in the drought-prone district, while his "Let's Cross the Borders" project connects young people from India and Pakistan, Palestine and Israel, Iraq and Iran, and the United States and North Korea to promote world peace.

The award was established by the Varkey Foundation and is given in partnership with UNESCO.