A primary school teacher from India was named the winner of the USD 1 million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020 in recognition of his efforts

A primary school teacher from India was named the winner of the USD 1 million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020 in recognition of his efforts to promote girls’education and trigger a quick-response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India.

Ranjitsinh Disale, 32, from Paritewadi village in Maharashtra’s Solapur district, emerged the winner from 10 finalists from across the world for the annual prize founded by the Varkey Foundation in 2014 to recognise an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.

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Disale, who believes that teachers are the world’s “real change-makers”, announced that he will be sharing 50 per cent of his prize money with his fellow finalists to support their “incredible work”.

“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,” said Disale.

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“Teachers are the real change-makers who are changing the lives of their students with a mixture of chalk and challenges. They always believe in giving and sharing. And, therefore, I am very pleased to announce that I will share 50 per cent of the prize money equally among my fellow top 10 finalists to support their incredible work. I believe, together, we can change this world because sharing is growing,” he said.

His generous gesture means the other nine finalists will receive just over USD 55,000 each as he made history as the first winner to share his prize money.