Two from state to receive nat’l award on Teachers’ Day | Lucknow News

Lucknow: Two teachers from UP have been selected for this year’s National Teachers Awards (NTA). The duo will be honoured for their efforts in improving enrolment, motivating students to attend school regularly and bringing innovation to classrooms. In all, 45 teachers from across the country will be honoured on the eve of Teachers’ Day on Sep 5. Madhurima Tiwari from Mirzapur took up the challenge of transforming the condition of the school after taking over as head in 2017. “From cricket field to ground for drying laundry, this was everything but a school. There were 56 students from classes 1 to 8 who came, roamed and went back,” recalled 46-year-old Madhurima, principal in-charge, PM Shri Composite School, Rani Karnawati block in Mirzapur. After continuous struggle and convincing the local administration, she was successful last year when her school was upgraded as PM Shri. “I made my own team of volunteers. These are senior girls who are dropouts and now come to school regularly to teach children of classes 1 and 2 under my supervision. Our cook-cum-helpers are our strength. Beyond cooking, they also stitch clothes for locals and earn extra bucks,” she said. She increased enrolment from 56 in 2011 to 218 in 2025. The school now develops its own teaching-learning material, has a green army, and a child parliament. “The journey was difficult, but the reward is overwhelming,” Madhurima said. Ram Lal Singh Yadav of Bhadohi is credited with curbing dropout rates in his school. ” Over 150 students have been able to continue their studies after getting scholarships from different govt schemes,” said 42-year-old Yadav, principal in-charge at Upper Primary School, Barwapur block in Bhadohi. A govt teacher since 2009, Yadav also did unique work during Covid. “During Covid, I painted over 400 walls in my village with Covid and environment-related messages. My work was appreciated by the district magistrate and other govt officers,” he said. In addition, Yadav takes care of underprivileged children by giving them free education in the evening. The uniqueness is that his students, who are now in class 10 and above, teach younger ones for free.