Delhi government recognises unique work of teachers, principals in educating children; Read full details here

The Delhi government on Tuesday conferred awards to 118 teachers and principals for better discharge of their duties and unique work in the field of education. Each awardee was given a certificate, a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a medal and a shawl.

Speaking about their experience, Preeti Sharma, one of the MCD school teachers who received the award, said since children in the MCD schools come from underprivileged backgrounds, she has helped them in all possible aspects, including providing ration during COVID-19 times.

"It has been 17 years that I have been in this profession and I have put in all possible efforts for the betterment of the children who study in our school. Since most of the children in the MCD schools come from underprivileged backgrounds, I have always tried my best to help them in every aspect whether it is studies, online education or helping their families with ration during Covid," the assistant teacher at the MCD school in Tajpur Khurd told PTI. Sharma said she was never social media-savvy and her seven-year-old daughter encouraged her to start a YouTube channel during the Covid-induced lockdown to circulate informative videos among students

"I have a YouTube channel with 30,000 subscribers where I regularly upload informative videos. The most interesting part is, my daughter, who was in Class 3 in 2020 (when the pandemic outbroke), encouraged me to start the channel and today, I have thousands of followers. "I was never social media-savvy. My children taught me how to use YouTube and how I could upload such informative videos to help ther children," she said.

For the Delhi government teachers' award event, nominations were invited from teachers and principals of DoE, MCD, NDMC, aided and private schools through online modules. Five awards were also given to teacher educators from the SCERT or DIETs.

Another awardee, Snehlata, an assistant teacher in the MCD Primary (Co-ed) School in Andrews Ganj, said her classroom has seen a transformation at the students' level due to the adoption of multi-faceted approaches. Speaking about her experience of more than 20 years as an MCD school teacher, she said she helped the students engage in hands-on activities and experiments, and enabled them to apply their learning in practical ways.

This year, 14 teachers and principals from MCD schools, 13 from private schools and one teacher from an NDMC school were given the awards. Every year, two special "Face of DoE" awards are given. This year, the awardees were Seema Tomar, a drawing teacher from SKV, Andrews Ganj, and Shishupal Singh, a physical education teacher. Another awardee, Bijender Yadav, said since most students come from a lower-middle class or poor background in the MCD schools, it is important that the teachers help the parents understand the academic pattern of their children.

"This is a very noble profession and I feel very proud to be a teacher. There are several children who come from poor backgrounds and whose parents are not educated. It becomes challenging for us as we also need to provide the students that parental support to motivate them in their studies -- be it homework, the curriculum or class work," Yadav, who is an assistant teacher at an MCD school in Mahaveer Enclave, told PTI. He added that there are times when teachers also provide financial support to the MCD school children so that they can continue their education.