An awards ceremony that salutes fortitude and the spirit of giving is back on stage after two years with more enthusiasm, more entries and more promise.
The annual gathering of students, teachers and parents for over a quarter of a century will be an in-person event this year.
IIHM presents The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2022, 27th edition, in association with The Bhawanipur Education Society College, will be held at the St James’ School auditorium on Saturday.
To cater to a wider audience, those in other cities or abroad, the entire ceremony will be live streamed at https://bit.ly/ telegraphawards22.
The programme starts at 10.30am.
This year, in a post-pandemic world, there has been an overwhelming response from schools, with more than 1,500 entries in various categories, said an official associated with the awards since its inception.
Last year, despite Covid and financial constraints all over, individuals and institutions reached out to those in need and The Telegraph Education Foundation handed over Rs 50 lakh in scholarships.
This year the foundation is striving towards handing over Rs 60 lakh.
A heartening trend is that schools and teachers have come forward to offer money for scholarships that would help many more students inch closer towards realising their dream of completing their education and having a career.
On Saturday, there will be stories of students like a 19-year-old daughter of a milk vendor who scored 94.6 per cent in Plus-II or a 10-year-old who lost her mother in a car accident and moves around on crutches, recuperating from the same accident that left her battered mentally and physically.
A mother will walk up to the stage to collect the award for her son because the boy lost the struggle against spinal muscular atrophy in August.
Barry O’Brien, trustee of The Telegraph Education Foundation, who will host the award ceremony for the 27th consecutive year, described it as a “people’s movement”.
“It is a people’s movement — of educators, parents, students- and it belongs to the people,” said O’Brien.
The theme of the 27th edition is “Curiosity”, which pushes one to question and seek answers, an organiser said.
To implant the seeds of curiosity is the basic tenet of school education and the awards will celebrate and salute those teachers who lead children from the unknown to the known.
An individual stops growing when they stop being curious, said O’Brien.
This year, the awards will also salute the triumph of students whose parents are in correctional homes and they are trying to change their destiny through sheer determination.
The programme will recognise individuals like a traffic sergeant who goes beyond the call of duty to facilitate the education of street children. The inaugural ceremony was held last Saturday at South City International School.