Teacher Sam welcomes pledge to share US$1m prize money
A generous gesture by a primary school teacher from India to share his US$1 million Global Teacher 2020 prize money could be used to further fund ongoing education projects in Malaysia, said fellow finalist Samuel Isaiah.
When contacted, Isaiah, however, told Malaysiakini that the winner, Ranjitsinh Disale from India's Paritewadi Village, had so far only made a personal pledge to share 50 percent of the prize money with the nine other finalists.
A generous gesture by a primary school teacher from India to share his US$1 million Global Teacher 2020 prize money could be used to further fund ongoing education projects in Malaysia, said fellow finalist Samuel Isaiah.
When contacted, Isaiah, however, told Malaysiakini that the winner, Ranjitsinh Disale from India's Paritewadi Village, had so far only made a personal pledge to share 50 percent of the prize money with the nine other finalists.
According to India's Hindustan Times, Disale's move could see each of the other nine finalists receiving up to US$55,000 from the overall prize money.
"We're not sure how and when will we get the money as there is no black and white at the moment
"In case it happens, it will definitely and significantly help my work," Isaiah told Malaysiakini when contacted.
Isaiah, better known as 'Teacher Sam', said any amount received would go towards furthering his projects including helping Orang Asli children in rural Pahang.
According to the Global Teacher Prize's website, the US$1 million prize money will be paid out by the Varkey Foundation - as the award's founder - to one winner in equal instalments of US$100,000 over a period of 10 years.
Disale was awarded the prize in a virtual ceremony broadcasted from London's Natural History Museum last night in recognition of his efforts to promote girls' education and trigger a quick-response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India.
The Hindustan Times quoted the 32-year-old as saying that teachers are the real change-makers, particularly in the face of new challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"They always believe in giving and sharing.
"Therefore, I am very pleased to announce that I will share 50 percent of the prize money equally among my fellow top 10 finalists to support their incredible work," Disale (below) reportedly said.
Among Disale's noted successes since 2009 as a teacher at the Zilla Parishad Primary School include eradicating teenage marriages in the village and ensuring the 100 percent attendance of girls at the school.
His pilot project for QR code embedded textbooks was also picked up by the state human resources ministry and expanded to all schools in 2018.
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