In these fraught and vitiated times, persons like Ranjitsinh Disale, a primary school teacher in a village school in Maharashtra, are not many, but their presence is a source of hope and inspiration. He is a role model for teachers and will be considered as an ambassador to the wide world from India’s field of education. Dosale was selected from thousands of candidates the world over for the Global Teacher Prize 2020 by a private foundation partnered by UNESCO. As a young teacher – Disale is 32 - he made a mark in his profession with devotion and dedication within a few years. With hard work and creative ideas, he promoted education among girls and underprivileged children who most needed it, in a place where many would not care to go to teach. He started his work in 2009 and has since then overcome many hurdles and turned his vocation into a mission.
As a young teacher, he realised that improving the schooling experience of children involved improving the school building and creating the necessary facilities, ensuring attendance of children, communicating better with them, monitoring their progress and attaining the best results. None of these was easy in a remote village with little institutional help coming and with many limitations to contend with. But he faced the challenges with determination and imagination. He got the dilapidated building redone, translated textbooks into the mother tongue of the children and embedded the books with unique QR codes to give the students access to audio poems, video lectures, stories and assignments. The school achieved 100% attendance of girls and the village does not have any teenage marriages now. He has also started a project ‘’Let’s Cross the Borders’’ to bring together young people from conflict-ridden areas of the world and to spread the message of peace. He also has a project that takes underprivileged children on virtual field trips.
It is not the teaching achievements that makes Disale special. He has announced that he would share half of his prize money with nine other finalists to support the ‘’incredible work’’ they have done as ‘’change-makers’’. He has also set apart funds from his prize money for the projects he has initiated. He believes that teachers should change lives with a mixture of chalk and challenges and should always believe in giving and sharing. He practised the idea in his life and that is what makes him exceptional. Education is a resource that increases with sharing. A good teacher is a good human being too and one who not only imparts knowledge to students but gives lessons to them and society with his conduct. They brighten up our environment.