Maha Teacher Wins $1Mn Global Teacher Prize, Says Will Share 50%

  Ranjitsinh Disale 

(Image: Global Teacher Prize)

Ranjitsinh Disale, 32, a primary school teacher from Paritewadi village in Maharashtra’s Solapur district on Thursday, 3 December, won $ 1-million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020 in recognition of his efforts to promote girls’ education and trigger a quick-response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India, reported news agency PTI.

Disale was chosen from 10 finalists from across the world for the annual prize founded by the Varkey Foundation in 2014.

The foundation recognises an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.

“I’ll share 50% of the prize money with fellow top 10 finalists to support their work. I’ll use the rest for creation of a fund to support teachers who are doing good work.”

Ranjitsinh Disale to ANI

Indian education philanthropist Sunny Varkey, the founder of the prize said that by sharing the prize money, it teaches the world the importance of giving.

Disale says that teachers are the real change-makers.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed education and the communities it serves in a multitude of ways. But in this hard time, teachers are giving their best to make sure every student has access to their birthright of a good education," PTI quoted Disale as saying.

Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO believes that Disale will eliminate inequalities and drive forward economic growth.

Disale’s Work at Zilla Parishad Primary School

In 2009, Disale took the opportunity to change the condition of Zilla Parishad Primary School at Paritewadi in Solapur. Earlier, the primary school was a dilapidated building.

He turned things around and ensured that the textbooks were available in the local language for the students and not only translated the class textbooks into his students’ mother tongue but also embedded them with unique QR codes, which gave students access to audio poems, video lectures, stories and assignments, reported PTI.

Leaders Congratulate Disale

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar congratulated RanjitSinh Disale.

He said that Disale revolutionised the concept of QR codes for textbooks in India.

“More importantly, he is sharing the prize money with fellow finalists to support more innovations,” Javadekar tweeted.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari praised Disale for his innovation in the field of education.

“Disale’s work of generating interest about education among children from rural areas, through innovative ideas and use of technology is commendable and worthy of emulating by others,” Koshyari tweeted.