‘World’s Most Exceptional Teacher’ Wasn’t Always Keen on Teaching

A government school teacher from Maharashtra, Disale is the first indian to win the Global Teacher Prize 2020.

(Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

Video Producer: Hera Khan

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

When Ranjitsinh Disale walked into an old government school around eleven years ago, there was very little that he could boast of it. Located precariously, as it were, in a parched village of Maharashtra’s Solapur district, the Zila Parishad school was flanked by a cattle shed on one side and a storeroom on another.

With a strength of about 110 students and five teachers, the school in Pairtewari village was mostly attended by students hailing from tribal communities, which according to the Varkey Foundation, “did not prioritise girls’ education” and as a consequence, would report multiple cases of child marriage.

A picture of the school, as uploaded by Ranjitsinh Disale’s Facebook account in November 2011.(Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

Several years on, the school now boasts of 100 percent attendance among girls and has been ranked the best government school in Solapur – all thanks to 32-year-old Disale who who has become the first Indian to win the Global Teacher Prize 2020.

And not just that, according to a Times of India report, the there have been no new cases of child marriage in the village as well.

‘World’s Most Exceptional Teacher’ Was Initially Hesitant

Disale, who won the title of the ‘world’s most exceptional teacher’ at the annual Global Teacher Prize 2020, has decided to share half of the $ 1 million prize he received, with other nine teachers who had reached the top 10.

A picture of Ranjitsinh Disale from November 2011.(Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

But teaching wasn’t always the first choice for the Maharashtra native, who says that he cannot change the world alone.

“I may have won the award but I can’t change the world alone, one Ranjitsinh Disale can’t do it on his own. And that’s why I decided to get more hands on board.”

Ranjitsinh Disale to <i>The Indian Express.</i>

In his early years, Disale wanted to be an IT engineer, but things didn’t pan out as planned and upon his father’s advice, the innovator decided to train for the role of a teacher.

A picture of Ranjitsinh Disale conducting a experimental online class. (Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

Initially somewhat ‘hesitant’, Disale’s world-view underwent a complete sea change after he joined teaching school and realised that “teachers are the real change-makers in the world.”

The Code to Success

At the Zila Parishad school, Pairtewari village, the first and biggest challenge Disale faced was to understand and identity reasons behind the school’s rather dismal academic record. He realised that the curriculum was not in Kannada, the mother tongue of most students in the village.

Ranjitsinh Disale with students at the Zila Parishad school.(Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

The lack of books and study material in one’s one mother language, he reasoned, was one of the biggest reasons preventing the school from achieving desired learning outcomes.

But how could Disale teach prepare a curriculum in Kannada, when he himself didn’t know it? There was only one way out and the teacher decided to start learning the language from scratch. 

Ranjitsinh Disale with students at the Zila Parishad school.(Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

Although it was difficult, Disale was able to learn Kannada, and redesigned all the textbooks of grades 1-4 for better comprehension. A couple of years later, he came up with quick response (QR) codes that allowed students to access videos and other learning content in Kannada with the snap of a button.

Serial Award Winner

Initially limited to the school, the QR code revolution started by Disale soon spread from one district to another and soon became a nation-wide phenomenon.

While in 2017, the Maharashtra government announced QR codes for text books in all classes, the move was replicated in 2018 by the then union Ministry of Human Resource Development, which said that NCERT text books would have QR codes.

Ranjitsinh Disale at an education exchange organised by Microsoft. (Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

And his achievements did not just stop here – from being recognised as a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert to winning the National Innovation Foundation’s Innovator of the Year Award in 2018, the rural Maharashtra teacher had added many feathers to his cap.

Not just this, a quick look at his Facebook profile reveals that Disale has addressed many a lecture and conducted multiple classes with students across the world.

Ranjitsinh Disale addressing students of a foreign country virtually.  (Photo: Facebook/Ranjitsinh Disale)

Where Will he Spend the Money?

Since Disale announced that he wants to share his Rs 7.4 crore award with other teachers, he will be left with around Rs 3.7 crore, which he will receive in ten installments over the next decade.

Wondering where and how he plans to use his share of the award? Well, according to a Times of India report, Disale wants to spend 30 percent of his share on a teacher innovation fund, while keeping the rest for his pet project titled ‘Lets cross the borders’ which brings together children from eight countries including India, over a period of six weeks.

(With inputs from The Indian Express and Times of India)