NEW DELHI: The head of the government school who ensured that the students did not miss out on engineering and medical courses for lack of coaching and another principal who innovatively provides students with experiential learning are the recipients of this year’s national teachers award from Delhi.
Vipin Kumar, principal of Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya, Sector 11, Rohini, and Suruchi Gandhi, principal, Bal Bharti School, Dwarka, will receive the award from the President of India on Teachers’ Day, September 5.
Kumar, 50, started his career in a Delhi government school as a maths lecturer. He has been the head of the school since 2014. In 2018, he received the state teachers’ award. “I have worked to see that students from government schools do not miss out on the medical and engineering seats because they cannot afford coaching. I have made provisions for necessary study materials and guidance for them to be able to achieve success. One year, 35 students cleared JEE and NEET,” Kumar told TOI.
Kumar also led the Delhi government school team to the Fourth International Olympiad of Metropolises in Moscow, where the city school won bronze medals in chemistry.
Gandhi has been a teacher for 35 years, 15 of them as principal of Bal Bharti School. In 2013, she was honoured with the state teachers’ award and in 2019 with the best teacher award. “This is an award for teamwork,” smiled Gandhi. “For any leader to realise her vision, she needs a supportive team. I have cooperative teachers, a supportive management and bright students. One needs to constantly aim to do better and not rest on your laurels.”
Gandhi’s focus has been experiential learning. “I allow children to innovate and experiment. When teaching them about how a cow gives milk, we even brought a cow to school,” she said. “We have taken students to the kitchen of a pizza outlet to let them see and learn how it is done. Because of their exposure, my students have won awards for developing a pothole sensor, robotic arms, e-bicycle and many other innovations.”
