He decided to share the award with his finalists
Indian teacher wins $ 1 million for dedication to changing girls' lives
Moualem Desali began his career in 2009. ■ Reuters
This year, the Global Teacher Prize was awarded to Indian Ranjit Desali for his work on educating girls, mostly from poor tribal communities, at a village school in western India.
Desali immediately announced that he would share the $ 1 million prize money with the other nine finalists.
Prize organizers said that Desali was honored for his contribution to "changing life chances" for girls from Zila Parishad Elementary School in Paritiwadi, Maharashtra state.
The award was announced by actor and writer Stephen Fry during a virtual ceremony broadcast from the Natural History Museum in London.
Desali heard the announcement of the award from his home in India, surrounded by his family.
According to the organizers, teacher Desali began his career in 2009 at the school, which was built in a demolished building next to a cattle shed. Attendance to schools in this area was low, along with the widespread phenomenon of teenage marriage.
The school curriculum was not in the Kenada language that the girls spoke, so Desali moved to the village and learned the language and translated textbooks for the girls to understand.
He also provided digital education tools and designed a special program for each student, and his smart system is currently being used across India.
Organizers say that the female student attendance rate has now reached 100%, and one of the village girls has graduated from university.
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news