Maharashtra Day, commonly known as Maharashtra Din is a state holiday in the Indian state of Maharashtra, commemorating the formation of the state of Maharashtra from the division of the Bombay State on 1 May 1960.
The inspiring story of a Teacher from this very state of Maharashtra who has recently won the Global Teacher Prize!
This time the day will have a new significance.
A grade school teacher, Ranjitsinh Disale, from a village in Maharashtra has made an entry to the list of top 10 finalists for the USD a million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020, in recognition of his efforts at promoting girls’ education and triggering a quick response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India.
Ranjith Disale teaching village students
Ranjitsinh’s journey
He taught in a dilapidated building, sandwiched between a cattle shed and a storeroom. Most of the women were from tribal communities that didn’t prioritize girls’ education, and therefore the practice of teenage marriage was common. Additionally, the curriculum wasn’t within the students’ primary language (Kannada), which meant that a lot of students were unable to realize expected learning outcomes.
After fixing an excellent deal of effort, Ranjitsinh learned Kannada, and redesigned all the textbooks of grades 1-4 for better comprehension, alongside unique QR codes that embedded audio poems, video lectures, stories, and assignments in Kannada.
These QR-coded books also benefited many ladies when schools were closed for 2 months thanks to a terror attack, as they were ready to continue learning using the books – and BBC News featured a story about them on 5th September 2019 to celebrate Teachers’ Day. Students now reflect on, discuss and showcase what they are learning to a far greater extent – developing communication, creativity, and real-world problem-solving skills.
As a result of these efforts, the varsity was awarded Best School for the district in 2016, and 98 percent of scholars have achieved their expected learning outcomes before completing the school year. In terms of his wider impact, The CEO of Microsoft (Satya Nadella) has recognized Ranjitsinh’s work together of three stories from India in his book Hit Refresh.
The central government named Ranjitsinh 2016 Innovative Researcher of the Year, and he also won the National Innovation Foundation’s Innovator of the Year award in 2018. He has communicated his methods by writing quite 500 newspaper articles and blogs and participating in television discussions on educational topics.
Once he wins the Global Teacher Prize, Ranjitsinh would want to share 50 percent of the prize money with the remaining nine teachers from the 10 Global Teacher Prize finalists. He would also launch an initiative to make sure that every year a minimum of 5000 students from the war-afflicted countries of the planet are recruited into a Peace Army. The prize money will help in reaching out to the maximum number of schools and students.
He truly is an inspiration for all of us. Let us celebrate this Maharashtra day, remembering him and his huge contributions made to the education system.
Also published on Medium.