‘Vivasayam Kappom’ campaign wins him Best Teacher Award

K. Karthikeyan, a teacher from Thiruparankundram, was selected for the Best Teacher Award by the State govt. He campaigned for saving agriculture & green cover with his students & urged girl students to be healthy. 12 other teachers from Madurai district also received the award.

For K. Karthikeyan, a teacher from the Panchayat Union Middle School at Periyar Nagar in Thiruparankundram union, September 5 turned a memorable day. The State government selected him for the Best Teacher Award, which was presented by Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi.

Speaking to The Hindu on Wednesday, Mr. Karthikeyan said he had always been explaining to his students the need to being socially responsible persons in future. Keeping this in mind, he had campaigned for saving agriculture (Vivasayam Kappom) and the green cover with the help of his students over the past decade.

He had also been urging girl students to be healthy, and to achieve this he recommended taking a lot of greens. As a result, the haemoglobin count of many children had improved, he added.

Before and after COVID-19 outbreak, Mr. Karthikeyan said, he had learnt a lot about cleanliness and hygiene. During the lockdown days, when use of face masks and hand sanitizers was routine, he introduced a few herbs which made the sanitizers more user-friendly for the children, he said.

School Education Department officials said 12 other teachers from Madurai district were also given the award. They were: A. Amirtha Sironmani, A. Joseph Jayaseelan, F. Helen, M. Thamaraiselvi, R. Maheswari, S. Vennila Devi, S. Syndia, A.L. Durga, A. Xavier Raj, S. Uma Maheswari, N. Meenakshi Sundaram and P. Prabakaran.