'Teacher with a Heart Award' for 20

The Manochetna Academic and Research Centre (MARC), a wing of the Manovikas Kendra, that works for children with learning difficulties in mainstream schools, will confer 'Teacher with a Heart Award' to 20 teachers in such schools across West Bengal.

This will be an outreach initiative to honour teachers who have done exemplary service to the children of mainstream schools, which admit students diagnosed with learning difficulties, MARC Director Arundhati Sarkar said here today.

The teachers have been selected by a panel of academic experts after the names were nominated by their respective institutions.

They have been selected on criterion like "being compassionate to children and coming to their side when they are in emotional need," Sarkar said.

There will also be a separate honour 'outstanding category' for one of the 20 recipients, the Director of Manovikas Kendra Dr Anamika Sinha said.

The award ceremony will take place on April 26.

MARC Director Sarkar said, "We are a dedicated centre which aims to help 'at risk' children in mainstream schools in an effective manner helping in identifying their problems and providing educational intervention.

An estimated 250 children of state run mainstream schools of West Bengal, in association with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, were currently attending remedial sessions on regular basis, Sarkar said.

She said 100 teachers of government/government-aided mainstream schools were also participating in teachers' training workshops undertaken by MARC free of cost and this was called 'Short Teacher Empowerment' project.