Chosen for National Award: From J&K to Kerala, teachers who battled odds to help students learn

For Dr Joy, who teaches mathematics to middle school students in a tribal area, the priority is to tackle the fear of school in his students. “I teach in an area where enrolment is very low. I believe that in order to overcome that, two fears need to be eliminated — fear of the subject and fear of teachers,” said Dr Joy, who holds a PhD in psychology.

To help his students tackle the fear of mathematics, he makes small kits for them to tinker with concepts like the number line “so that they can play like it’s ludo while learning”.

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He also counsels the children to understand which teachers they are afraid of. “Instead of confronting the teacher, I conduct group counselling with teachers and students. Through such activities, a relationship is built.”

Gurnam Singh, Jammu and Kashmir
Government Upper Primary School Lahari, Barnoti, Kathua

When Singh was posted to this school four years ago, he found it operating out of a single-room tin shed. The school is in a remote location and it takes Singh two hours to reach everyday after a 25 km bike ride and a 10 km trek. “I got a grant from government to build a pucca school but the challenge was getting land. I sought the local community’s support and they donated four bighas. Now, we have a pucca school with three classrooms, a headmaster’s office, a TV and satellite dish, and a speaker system. There are a 110 schools in my zone. None of them have these facilities,” he said.

Mahesh Kumar, Kerala
Government Lower Primary School Cheriyakkara, Kayyur, Nileshwar, Kasaragod

After his posting, Kumar found local residents were not interested in enrolling their children at the school. When Kumar joined last year, there were only 13 students in the school. He started working to make the school attractive with contributions from the local community, mostly comprising daily wage labourers. “We received around Rs 11 lakh from the community over seven months. We built a park, a playground and reading hutments. With these interventions, the school’s atmosphere changed,” he said.

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The school raised Rs 3 lakh from its alumni to buy a van for transporting students. Kumar drives the van. Today, the number of students in the school has gone up to 43.

Ashutosh Anand will be given awards by the President today.

Ashutosh Anand, Uttar Pradesh
Upper Primary School Miyanganj, Dariyabad, Barabanki

Anand’s mission is to make learning science fun for his students, most of whom are first generation learners from Muslim and SC families. “I think there is nothing which cannot be used for learning. We have a box which students fill up with scrap items from their homes. Then they make learning materials from these items. They have made models of digestive and nervous systems using scrap materials,” he said.

He also encourages his students to ideate on which scientific phenomena can be illustrated through everyday objects. Mutum

Tombimacha Singh, Manipur
Tekcham Girls Upper Primary School, Tekcham Village, Thoubal

Mutum’s aim has been to bring more children with special needs to the school which has 175 students. “In the village, most people try to hide children with special needs in their homes. I am in touch with various youth clubs and local volunteers and have requested them to look out for such children,” he said.

Mutum tries to provide facilities to these students so that their parents do not need to put in any effort into their schooling. He pays for a van which transports them to school and back and also buys uniforms for them.

“Now we have 24 children with special needs. Unfortunately, only 17 attend classes regularly. The rest require helpers which we are unable to provide. I bring them to school on occasions.”