The prestigious ‘Navin Asher-Kazi Awards for Excellence in Teaching’ were conferred on teachers from various Indian Schools by the Board of Directors of Indian Schools Oman at a ceremonious function held at Indian School Darsait on Monday, 10 February 2020.
Dr. Satbir Bedi IAS, Chairperson, National Council for Teacher Education, Delhi was the Chief Guest and H.E. Munu Mahawar, Ambassodor of India to the Sultanate of Oman was the Guest of Honour.
The Chief Guest, who delivered the keynote address, congratulated the awardees and nominees. She spoke about the need for making classroom learning a joyful experience and stressed that the role of teachers in this regard was of utmost importance. She further emphasized on preparing children for life rather than confining them to the percentage of marks in the examinations.
The function was attended by the luminaries of Indian diaspora, Members of the Indian Embassy & Board of Directors, former Chairpersons of the Board of Directors, Awardees, Nominees, Members of the School Management Committees, Principals and teachers of Indian Schools.
Dr. Baby Sam Saamuel, Chairman, Board of Directors, presided over the function and welcomed the gathering. He appreciated the commitment of teachers in providing quality education. He focused on the greater need to transform children into global citizens. ‘Teachers need to be lifelong learners. They should become happier versions of themselves by believing in what they can do as they have limitless potentials and their limitations are only their inhibitions.’ Dr. Sam said.
The award ceremony began with the felicitation of the Indian School Principals for rendering long years of dedicated service to the Indian Schooling System in Oman. Mr. P. Prabakaran (Indian School Maabela), Mrs. Sanchita Verma (Indian School Sohar) and Mr. D.N Rao (ISWK) were the proud recipient of the Long Service Recognition Award. Each recipient was presented with memento, certificate and shawl.
Mr. M. P. Vinoba, Senior Principal and Educational Advisor presented a brief note on the Navin Asher-Kazi Awards for Excellence in Teaching’ , the phases of the selection process, award criteria, nominations and other details.
The Excellence Awards were bagged by the following teachers: Kindergarten: Ms. Meena Singh (ISM) & Ms. Sama Shaikh (ISAS), Primary Section: Ms. Gladys Misquith & Ms. Srividya Ramkumar (ISM), Middle Section: Ms. Jyoti Ganeshnath & Ms. Lavene Jane (ISM), Secondary & Senior Secondary: Mr. Sanjeet Kumar Das (ISWK) & Mr. Joyson Cyril (ISM), Co-scholastic – Fine Arts: Mr. Avinash Kumar (ISM), Co-scholastic Physical Education: Mr. Venketeson Karthikeyan (ISM), Counsellor: Ms. Bubly Devarajan (ISM), Care & Special Education: Ms. Jocine Gloria Jerin & Mr. Alex N. Each Excellence Awardees was presented with memento and certificate.
Among others who were honoured for their accomplishments were Ms. Priya Murali, Vice Principal, Indian School Muscat, the CBSE Best Teacher Awardee 2018-19 & Mr. Afzal Khan Sherkhan, Head of Department (Physical Education), Indian School Al Ghubra, who bagged the Meritorious Achievement Award for his selection as the cricket umpire by ICC, in the ICC organized world cup in 2014 & by Asian Cricket Council for ACC cricket tournament from 2017-2019.
Moreover, prizes were given to winners of Collage Contest for Students conducted earlier by BoD in connection with the day’s event: – Mukti D Patel & S U Prathaksana, (ISAM) won the first & second positions respectively in Level 1 (Classes VI-VIII) while Christina Jitto, (IS Muladha), Sahana Sandesh Kumar, (ISD, Priya Wilson, (ISAM) secured the first, second and third positions respectively in Level 2 (Classes IX-XII).
The Chairman, BoD presented tokens of gratitude to the Chief Guest, Dr Satbir Bedi, IAS, the Guest of Honour, Shri Munu Mahawar and Shri Kiran Asher, Former Chairman BoD who was also the sponsor of the event and in whose late father’s name the Award of Excellence has been instituted to encourage and recognize teachers par excellence.
Dr. Alex C Joseph, Assistant Education Advisor, proposed vote of thanks that marked the end of the programme.