Five Teachers Awarded 'VP Agrawal Excellent Teacher Award'

Kathmandu. Five teachers from community schools across the country have been awarded this year's 'VP Agrawal Excellent Teacher Award'. The award was presented to them at a special ceremony organized by the VP Agrawal Science Foundation in the capital on Friday.

The recipients include Anjana Maharjan, a Nepali subject teacher at Mangal Secondary School, Kirtipur (Kathmandu), and Sharmila Pradhan, an English subject teacher at the same school. 

Similarly, Rajkumar Kandel, a Mathematics teacher at Narayani Model Secondary School, Bharatpur (Chitwan), Prakash Acharya, a Social Studies teacher at Shram Rastriya Secondary School, Tuslal (Kathmandu), and Mukunda Prasad Kafle, a Science teacher at the same school, were also honored. Each recipient received a cash prize of Rs 222,222 along with a certificate and a shawl.

Mrs. Lalita Agrawal, wife of Professor Dr. VP Agrawal and Vice-President of the Foundation, and Mr. Dilip Agrawal, Chairman of the Foundation, jointly presented the awards at the program.

• What is the VP Agrawal Excellent Teacher Award

This award was established by the VP Agrawal Science Foundation with the objective of encouraging teachers who have been teaching in community schools of the country for more than 5 consecutive years.

According to the coordinator of the award selection committee and former secretary, Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, applications were invited from across the country for the award. Out of these, 111 applications were received. The applications were evaluated in various stages. 

In the first phase, marks were awarded based on the school's pass percentage and subject-wise grades. Subsequently, the educational details of the six shortlisted teachers were examined.

In the final phase, a committee of three experts evaluated the teachers' presentations. The evaluation criteria included subject matter knowledge and presentation, creativity and innovation in teaching, contribution to students' learning levels, confidence in their experiments, practice of collaboration, and ability to select teaching methods as needed.

• Who is VP Agrawal?

Professor Dr. Bishwanath Prasad Agrawal (VP Agrawal) was a prominent figure in Nepal's science and education sector. He served as a professor of Chemistry at Tribhuvan University for a long time. Having completed his Ph.D. in Agricultural Chemistry from America and conducted research as a Humboldt Fellow in Germany, he returned to Nepal with the determination to apply the knowledge and research skills learned abroad in his own country.

He established the Research Laboratory for Biotechnology and Biochemistry, the first private research institution in Nepal. Receiving grants from international organizations like the Rockefeller Foundation, he involved many young students in research at that lab. He was also a fellow of the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and a member of the Constituent Assembly.

Considering teaching as his life's primary goal, he used to teach underprivileged students from the village by keeping them at his own home. He made significant contributions to women's education. 

He played an active role in the establishment of Kathmandu Women's College and the establishment of schools and colleges in rural areas. Agrawal established this foundation before his death with the aim of contributing to the fields of education and science.

Receiving the award, Anjana Maharjan, a teacher from Mangal Secondary School, said that the teaching profession is not just a job for her but an important responsibility for the construction of society and the nation. 

"Today, this honor has made me feel that my responsibility has increased even further," she said, "I consider this award as a respect for the entire teaching community."

Similarly, Rajkumar Kandel, a Mathematics teacher from Narayani Model Secondary School, said that for him, this award is not just an award, but the result of the trust and support of his colleagues, his school, his parents, his educational guardians, and all his dear student siblings. He expressed happiness when students achieved good results even in a difficult subject like mathematics.

At the program, Foundation Chairman Dilip Agrawal stated that teachers are an indispensable part of education, and the foundation's objective is to find and honor excellent teachers and make them a source of inspiration for other teachers.