Bhubaneswar: President of India Droupadi Murmu will confer the National Teachers’ Award 2023 awardees, including two from Odisha, on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on Tuesday.
This time, the Education Ministry has selected 75 teachers – 50 schoolteachers, 13 teachers from higher education and 12 teachers from Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship – for the award, which carries a certificate of merit, a cash award of Rs 50,000 and a silver medal.
Subhash Chandra Rout, a retired Headmaster of Brundaban Government High School in Jagatsinghpur district, and Sashisekhar Kar Sharma, Headmaster of Kenduapada Government High School in Bhadrak district, have been selected for the award from Odisha for their innovative concepts of teaching, including ‘Ring the bell and drink water’ to improve water intake among kids, ‘Sabu dina jiba school’ to reduce dropouts, zero period activities on Saturday, technology-based learning, low-cost teaching-learning materials, ‘my book my buddy’ and sing and learn for foundational literacy and numeracy.
Rout’s innovative teaching methods have helped to improve student learning outcomes. He used storytelling method to remove the fear for mathematics from their minds and make learning joyful. He also promoted extracurricular activities and helped to reduce the dropout rate. Popularly know as Subhash sir, he retired about a month ago but still takes classes there. He had received the state award for his contribution to the field of education in 2005.
Sharma has been praised for his commitment to quality education and his efforts to improve the learning environment through innovative teaching materials and programmes. He is best known for his smart classroom teaching using modern technologies. “The award will inspire me to work more dedicatedly for the schools and students,” he told the media.
