Shillong lecturer among 47 teachers in India selected for National Award 2020

SHILLONG | AUG 22, 2020:

A Shillong-based Physics teacher, Rahul S Chatterjee made Meghalaya proud after being selected for the National Award to Teachers 2020.

Chatterjee is the only teacher from Meghalaya to feature in the list of winners.

Chatterjee is among the 47 others nation-wide to receive the award. It may be mentioned that along with Chatterjee, four other teachers from Northeast have also been selected for the award.

The four other teachers include — Archana Gurung and Lomas Dhungel from Sikkim, Goutam Dev Sarma from Assam, and Sanjay Das from Tripura.

The award will be conferred during the Teacher's Day celebrations on September 5 in New Delhi.

The purpose of National Awards to Teachers is to celebrate the unique contribution of some of the finest teachers in the country and to honor those teachers who, through their commitment and industry, have not only improved the quality of school education but also enriched the lives of their students.

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LITTLE ABOUT RAHUL SANKAR CHATTERJEE

Rahul S Chatterjee is an Assistant Lecturer (Physics) of Shillong Jail Road Boys' Higher Secondary School.

It may be mentioned that he has brought many laurels to the state and the school in the past as well.

• In 2019, he was awarded the prestigious "International High School Teacher Programme" fellowship for a two-week training programme at CERN, Geneva, Switzerland. He was the only teacher from India selected for this fellowship.
• In 2017, Chatterjee was awarded the Lokmani Lal Award for Excellence in Secondary Teaching.
• In 2012, he received the highly-acclaimed "International Leaders in Education Programme" (ILEP) fellowship to the United States.
• In 2009, Chatterjee was conferred with the "Science Teacher Award" by the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), NER Local Chapter.

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Surprisingly, Chatterjee, a well-known teacher across the country, has no state or district award to his credit.

Reacting to this, the lecturer said, "Teachers don't know how to apply; Even I don't know how to go about the procedures."

It was informed that for the selection process, the Divisional School Education Officer (DSEO) usually sends the invitations for the district and state awards to the respective school principals, who later share the same with all the teachers.

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However, there have been complaints that not many teachers are aware of the invitations even as it was alleged that some principals would either hide the invitation or share the same with only a few favourable teachers.

"I just learned that we can either apply for the district or state award directly or through the school," said Chatterjee.

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