Maharashtra teacher awarded for educating students in remotest areas

NEW DELHI: A teacher in Maharashtra, Khurshid Sheikh has been awarded with the National Teachers Award 2021 for his unmatched contributions toward teaching and taking education in the remotest areas of the state, Maharashtra education minister Varsha Gaikwad announced on social media.

Sheikh has gone beyond the call of duty and his contributions have helped students from the remotest areas of Gadchiroli, who would have dropped out of school otherwise, Varsha Gaikwad said.

Sheikh travels through “difficult terrains” and uses loudspeakers, projectors, and puppet shows to make education for those students fun-filled and smooth. He is a teacher at the Asaralli ZP Upper Primary School, Sironcha. He also creates short films wherein the students participate.

A native of Jalgaon, Sheikh had to learn the local dialects in order to be able to teach the students whom he calls “jungle batches”. He has also started a Tribal to Global initiative to lead his students to education beyond textbooks.

“Khurshid Sheikh,45,believes that a teacher's connection with his students should never be broken. When #COVID19 & the lack of connectivity in Gadchiroli's remotest hamlets threatened that he took education to their homes by devising what he calls 'Jungle' batches. #SuperGuru”, Varsha Gaikwad said on social media.

Khurshid Sheikh,45,believes that a teacher's connection with his students should never be broken. When #COVID19 & the lack of connectivity in Gadchiroli's remotest hamlets threatened that, he took education to their homes by devising what he calls 'Jungle' batches. #SuperGuru pic.twitter.com/naQp2YbTJ7

— Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) August 21, 2021

This year, the Union education ministry has selected 44 teachers to be awarded with the National Teachers Award 2021. President Ram Nath Kovind will present the award on Teacher’s day, September 5.

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