Faridkot teacher who developed low-cost teaching gear selected for national award
FARIDKOT: Rajinder Kumar, 44, a teacher posted at Government Primary School in Wara Bhaika, in Jaitu sub-division of Faridkot, has been selected for the National Awards to Teachers, 2020, by the Union ministry of education. He is among the 47 teachers from across the county, and only from Punjab, to be selected for the prestigious award.
The awards are given on Teachers’ Day, which falls on September 5. Kumar started his teaching career in 2008 as a fellow teacher at Wara Bhaika village in the district. MSC in physics and bachelor of education, Kumar quickly earned fame for enhancing practical skills of students by introducing innovative teaching techniques and developing lowcost modern teaching equipment.
“I was hired on contractual basis and got a permanent job after three years. When I joined the school in 2008, I noticed that primary education plays the most important role in career-building, but no one was giving any importance to it. The teaching techniques were not modern in government schools in my initials years and because of this, students were not interested in studies. I decided to change it,” said Kumar.
“Me and my wife, who also hold an MSC in physics, teach in same school. We both got promotion as science teacher but we turned it down because we wanted to work in primary classes. In the last few years, we have developed new interesting techniques for teaching, which we further shared with other schools as well and as a result, students showed more interest in studies,” he said.
“As a physics student, I always had interest in electronics and I like to work on machines. I have made a team of volunteers, including carpenters and electricians, and together we develop new equipment. We have developed a listening lab in the school for just Rs 1,200, which costs around Rs 35,000 in the market,” he said.
He said all classrooms at Wara Bhaika school are smart and the school also has a e-library. “I have also prepared e-content for the study of students through new and innovative techniques,” he added.