22 teachers across the country selected for Dr Kalam Memorial Award

NEW DELHI: A total of 22 teachers from various states have been selected for the Dr Kalam Memorial Teacher's Award as a mark of their contribution towards promoting education in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the award organisers Dr Vikhe Patel Foundation and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Centre said here on Thursday.

The announcement was made on the eve of the 90th birth anniversary of former President of India and noted scientist Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. He died in July 2015. Following a rigorous judging process involving reviews and interviews, the 22 winners were shortlisted based on their innovation, inclusion and impact in augmenting education in times of the pandemic, the organisers said in a release.

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The awardees include Raj Kumar Pal from Delhi, C R Lalthangmawia from Mizoram, Sanjay Sachdev from Gujarat, and Aleyamma George from Kerala. The winners have been chosen from four categories - primary, secondary, government, and private schools - for showcasing the indomitable spirit in the current challenging times, the release said. Pal, a dedicated computer science teacher, made learning joyful and interesting for students by using games, quizzes, online apps, and 3D models, it said.

Lalthangmawia from Synod Home Mission School, Mizoram, made optimum use of WhatsApp due to unpredictable connectivity issues and promoted the programmes that were aired by the Mizoram government on the Aizawl centre of national channel Doordarshan, providing an explanation for them to his students. Sachdev, from Kheda district in Gujarat, created a unique concept of 'Learning Wall' in the heart of the village.

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George from Cochin in Kerala introduced innovative ideas for reading and learning during the pandemic by extensive use of e-materials, the release said. A panel comprising Global Teacher Prize recipient Ranjitsinh Disale, IIM Indore Professor Dr Manoj Motiani, Sister Lucy Kurien (Founder, Maher), and renowned educationist Nandini Patil shortlisted the winners from 200 applications. "The first edition of the Kalam Memorial Teacher's Award is an attempt to honour those exceptional teachers who imbibed Dr Kalam's idea of teaching," Dr Vikhe Patil Foundation chairman Dr Ashok Vikhe Patil said.