Ranjitsinh Disale won the laurel for her work on girls’ education and QR code textbooks.
New Delhi:
A teacher who instinctively followed his own teaching in his very moment of world glory and unprecedented fortune: Ranjitsinh Disale from India has just shown the world what that meant. The 32-year-old primary school teacher from Maharashtra won the 2020 Global Teacher Prize on Thursday, only to share the cash prize of roughly Rs 7.4 crore with nine of his fellow finalists, perhaps the first time in history that such a gesture was made. . .
The world was brought down again.
“Teachers are the true agents of change … I am pleased to announce that I will share 50% of the prize money equally among my fellow Top 10 Finalists to support their incredible work. I believe that together we can change this world because sharing it’s growing, “said Mr. Disale from Solapur’s Paritewadi village, according to PTI.
The other nine finalists, therefore, will receive more than $ 55,000 each.
Disale won the laurel for promoting girls’ education and his attempts to jump-start a rapid response (QR) coded textbook movement in India.
The scope of his professional endeavors was hardly betrayed by the modest charm of the moment when he was declared the winner by veteran British actor and writer Stephen Fry during a virtual ceremony Thursday.
With his parents sitting on either side, Mr. Disale exploded with excitement as would one of his many young students, shouting and clapping with joy. When his mother hugged him, his father called another relative into the frame, creating an exciting family moment, all on live camera.
“Looks like it’s all your extended family now … Oh wonderful, dear friend!” Mr. Fry commented watching the Disale family celebrate on screen.
Messages of congratulations started coming in soon, but clearly not just for Mr. Disale, the winner, but for Mr. Disale, the ideal winner.
From the governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, to the chief minister of the state, Uddhav Thackeray, everyone praised Disale’s achievement.
Shri Disale’s work in generating interest in education among children in rural areas, through innovative ideas and the use of technology, is commendable and worthy of being emulated by others.
– Governor of Maharashtra (@maha_governor) December 3, 2020
“What an inspiring story from India! The best teacher wins $ 1 million and gives away half,” congressional leader Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
In any case, Disale’s accomplishments in Paritewadi village have already made him a legend in the region.
When he got there in 2009, the village school was a dilapidated building, between a cattle shed and a warehouse, says a report from the PTI. It radically changed things, securing local language textbooks embedded with unique QR codes to give students access to audio poems, video lectures, stories, and assignments. As a result of their interventions, the report says, no adolescent marriage has been reported in the village and there has been 100% girls’ school attendance.
For the Global Teacher Prize, Mr. Disale came first to a final list of 10 out of more than 12,000 nominations and applications from more than 140 countries.
His fellow finalists are Olasunkanmi Opeifa from Nigeria, Jamie Frost from the UK, Carlo Mazzone from Italy, Mokhudu Cynthia Machaba from South Africa, Leah Juelke from the United States, Yun Jeong-hyun from South Korea, Samuel Isaiah from Malaysia and Doani Emanuela Bertan from Brazil.
“By sharing the prize money, you teach the world the importance of giving,” said Sunny Varkey, Indian education philanthropist, founder of the prize.
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