Bhubaneswar: Two Odia teachers have made the State proud by bagging the coveted National Awards along with 45 others from across the country from the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind in the first-ever award ceremony held virtually on the occasion of Teachers’ Day on Saturday.
They were Tapas Kumar Mohanty of Bhima Bhoi School for the Blind from the capital city of Bhubaneswar and Basant Kumar Sahu of Government Upper Primary School at Surasara in Boudh.
Mohanty was elated after receiving the award. “The award from honourable President is great recognition for my hard work and passion towards education. I dedicate the award to my colleagues and students,” he stated.
As an experienced teacher in a school for the visually impaired, Mohanty has devoted himself in developing practicable and adaptable methodologies for the teaching of children with visual impairment. He has brought out many publications dealing with teaching practises for the visually challenged.
Mohanty has also produced many audiobooks for the children to keep up with learning needs at higher education levels. He has earned respect as an important state resource person for developing teaching and learning materials for the teaching of the children with special needs in general schools. He has also oriented teachers on the use of these practices as a trainer.
On the other hand, Sahu has tried to make teaching and learning enjoyable and interesting for young students in his school with the effective innovation of using shadow puppets and string puppets in classroom transactions.
He has revived an existing local skill of puppet making as a craft amongst his schoolchildren and begun to use them for enhancing learning activities in a joyful and exciting way. His success in the innovation has given way to the development of a handbook on the making of and use of puppets in teaching by primary and upper primary school teachers.
Sahu was ecstatic after getting the honour. “I was working with full dedication. But to be honest I had never expected to bag this award. I and my family members are over the blue moon,” stated a visibly elated Sahu.
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