Rewarded for his work in a rural village, the prize winner brought school attendance up to 100 per cent changing the lives of many youth, who might have married as teenagers. He combines technology and a personalised system, which is now used throughout India. The educator plans to share the million-dollar prize with the nine other finalists.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – The Global Teacher Prize went to Ranjitsinh Disale, an educator at the Zilla Parishad Primary School, in Paritewadi (Maharashtra). The promoters of the initiative, the Vankey Foundation and UNESCO, made the announcement yesterday in London during a virtual ceremony.
Ranjitsinh Disale was selected from 12,000 nominations from over 140 countries around the world. He was able to achieve 100 per cent school attendance in the rural school where he teaches, and transform the lives of the girls he educates.
Disale began working in Paritawedi in 2009 in a rundown school building, located next to a cattle shed. It had very few students, especially few girls. Teenage marriage is commonplace in the area.
His first obstacle was linguistic: He had to learn the local language (Kannada) and translate school textbooks in order to boost participation.
Disale introduced digital learning tools and prepared personalised study programmes. His system is now used across the country, and one of his students, a girl from the village, graduated from university.
The prize winning educator also began environmental projects in his 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 Indian teacher is the sixth winner of the prize. He plans to share the one million dollars with other nine finalists, including one from Italy.