“Potholed Roads, Puppet Plays & Perseverance: How India’s Rural Teachers Lit the Way”

Take a look at inspiring stories of teachers from Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Telangana who turned challenges into opportunities. From puppet plays to local-language textbooks, meet the rural and tribal teachers honored with the National Teachers Award 2025

Madhurima Tiwari from Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh

On the occasion of National Teachers Day, September 5, President of India, Droupadi Murmu conferred the National Teachers’ Awards on 45 remarkable teachers from across India. These winners are not from metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, instead, they were tireless individuals teaching in far-flung hamlets and tribal areas of Odisha and Maharashtra, whose quiet innovations turned despair into possibility.

Lets take a look at some of the them:

Malkangiri, Odisha

A school perched among ancient forests, where children once toddled past classrooms into the jungle or fields—too far from the chance to learn. Then came Basanta Kumar Rana, whose puppets and wall murals turned lessons into art. Math danced on these walls; science illustrated itself. Attendance soared from 86 to 148 in just two years, and children began staying for classes they once fled.

Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh

Here, Madhurima Tiwari reimagined her school as a cradle of hope. From 56 to 218 students enrolled—many returning after years away. Senior girls who had dropped out became mentors; homemade teaching tools blossomed; students formed their own parliament and environmental group. Her school became more than a building—it became a breath of life.

Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh

During the pandemic, Ram Lal Singh Yadav covered village walls with educational art—health messages, learning prompts—and championed peer learning, offering free evening classes where older students tutored younger ones. His efforts weren’t just educational; they were lifelines.

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Amid the city’s roar, Sonia Kapoor turned lessons into games. Board games with Gandhi chasing Homi Bhabha, puppet shows threading values into childhood, and a vegetable garden teaching sustainability and responsibility—her classroom was a greenhouse of growth and joy.

Nanded, Maharashtra

To keep over 2,000 girls from dropping out, Mohammad Shaikh rented local rooms to hold Urdu-medium classes. In a bold move, he distributed sanitary napkins—breaking taboo to ensure education wasn’t held back by biology.

Latur, Maharashtra

Sandipan Jagdale gave children the power of their mother tongue—translating Grade I textbooks into Waddar, producing Braille music books, and composing voter-awareness songs in local dialects. Education, he showed, had to be inclusive to be accessible.

Suryapet, Telangana

Biology wasn't bound to textbooks under Maram Pavithra. Kids enacted organs, enacted ecosystems with board games, maintained “personality diaries,” visited ISRO and CCMB, and bonded with peers across continents via video calls. This wasn’t teaching—it was co-creating curiosity.

President Murmu speaking to awardees said: “Education is as essential as food, clothing and shelter,” she said, emphasizing that “affectionate and devoted teachers give wings to children — especially those from the poorest backgrounds,” and that character-building is at the heart of teaching. “Smart blackboards matter,” she smiled, “but it’s the smart teacher—who senses the heart of each child—who truly teaches.” President Murmu who was herself a teacher, her voice trembled with nostalgia as she said that education needs emotions, intellect, and sensitivity, and declared that teachers would carry India toward becoming a Global Knowledge Superpower.

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