Maharashtra’s Zilla Parishad primary schoolteacher Ranjitsinh Disale has bagged the prestigious the Global Teacher Prize (GTP) 2020 worth USD One Million (Rs.7.40 crore).
Disale, who transformed had multi-language courses in Kannada or Telugu owing to which many students were not able to perform well.
Disale made it a point to learn Kannada, an official language of neighbouring Karnataka). Afterwards, he redesigned all the textbooks of primary school Std. I-IV standards to ensure easier understanding by the young students. Along with unique QR codes, Disale also incorporated audio poems, video lectures, stories and assignments in Kannada which proved to be a boon for the young learners.
So much so that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had earlier recognized Disale’s work in his book, ‘Hit Refresh’.
The Indian Government awarded him Innovative Researcher of the Year-2016 and also bestowed him with the National Innovation Foundation’s Innovator of the Year-2018 honour.
For the first time, the Global Teacher Prize winning announcement was made at a virtual ceremony broadcast from the Natural History Museum in London, with comedian, actor, writer and presenter Stephen Fry announcing the winner.
The ceremony also included a special recognition for one teacher – a COVID hero – who has gone above and beyond to keep young people learning during the COVID-19 pandemic
In his winning speech, Disale announced that he would share half the prize money with his fellow top 10 finalists, resulting in the other nine finalists receiving just over US$55,000 each.
This is for the first time in the Global Teacher Prize’s six year history that the overall winner has shared the prize money with other finalists
At this year’s ceremony, the Varkey Foundation also announced the launch of the new Chegg.org Global Student Prize, a US$50,000 sister prize to the Global Teacher Prize, which will open applications and nominations in the coming year.
“The Global Student Prize will create a powerful new platform to highlight the efforts of extraordinary students throughout the world that are making a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and on society beyond,” a Varkey Foundation spokesperson said.