Maharashtra teacher wins global prize for educating girls

Maharashtra teacher Ranjit Singh Disale has won the Global Teacher Prize for promoting girls' education. Disale, in a beautiful gesture of generosity, has decided to share 50 per cent of his prize money with his fellow finalists.

Mumbai:A primary school teacher from Maharashtra's Solapur district was awarded the title of Global Teacher Prize for his efforts to promote girls' education.

The 32-year-old Ranjit Singh Disale announced that he will share half of the prize money of USD 1 million with his top nine fellow finalists. Singh put in efforts to promote education among tribal girls and for encouraging a quick-response (QR) coded textbook revolution.

He bagged this position after defeating 12,000 teachers from 140 countries and was elected among the top ten finalists.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed education and the communities it serves in a multitude of ways. But, in this hard time, teachers are giving their best to make sure every student has access to their birthright of a good education,” Disale said.

READ:MLC polls: Congress wins Nagpur graduates' constituency

He said that he will share the prize money with his fellow finalists to improve the quality of education.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray congratulated Ranjit Singh Disale for his victory. The Chief Minister's official Twitter handle wrote, "Maharashtra CM congratulates Ranjit Singh Disale and is looking forward to meeting him."

Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari also congratulated Ranjit Singh Disale and wrote on Twitter, "I congratulate Ranjit Singh Disale. He has been given the Global Teacher Prize 2020 by London-based Varkey Foundation. Heartiest congratulations."