Five Community School Teachers Receive VP Agrawal Award

Five Community School Teachers Receive ‘VP Agrawal Outstanding Teacher Award’

The VP Agrawal Science Foundation has presented this year’s ‘VP Agrawal Outstanding Teacher Award’ to five teachers working at community schools across the country. They received the awards at a special ceremony held in the capital on Friday.

Each award recipient was honoured with a cash prize of Rs. 222,222, a certificate of honour and a ceremonial shawl.

Award-Winning Teachers

Mrs. Lalita Agrawal, Vice-Chairperson of the Foundation and wife of Prof. Dr. VP Agrawal, attended the programme as the chief guest. She and Foundation Chairperson Dilip Agrawal jointly presented the awards.

Award and Selection Process

The VP Agrawal Science Foundation established the award to encourage teachers who have been teaching continuously for more than five years at community schools across the country.

According to former secretary Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, coordinator of the award selection committee, the winners were selected through several stages of evaluation from applications submitted by 111 teachers nationwide.

In the first stage, marks were awarded based on each school’s pass percentage and subject-specific grades. In the second stage, the academic details of the six highest-ranked teachers were examined.

In the final stage, a three-member panel of experts evaluated the teachers based on their subject knowledge, presentation, creativity and innovative teaching practices, contribution to student learning, self-confidence, collaboration and ability to select appropriate teaching methods.

Who Was Prof. Dr. VP Agrawal?

Prof. Dr. Vishwanath Prasad Agrawal, also known as VP Agrawal, was a prominent figure in Nepal’s science and education sectors [1]. He served for many years as a professor of chemistry at Tribhuvan University, earned a doctorate in agricultural chemistry in the United States and conducted research in Germany through a Humboldt Fellowship.

He established Nepal’s first private research institution, the ‘Research Laboratory for Biotechnology and Biochemistry.’

He was also an academician at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) and a member of the Constituent Assembly. He founded Kathmandu Women’s College and played an active role in advancing women’s education.

Before his death, Agrawal established the Foundation with the objective of contributing to the fields of education and science.

Statements from the Winners and Organisers

While receiving the award, Anjana Maharjan of Mangal Secondary School said that teaching was not merely a job for her but an important responsibility in building society and the nation.

She said the honour had further increased her responsibilities and that she regarded it as recognition of the entire teaching community.

Similarly, mathematics teacher Raj Kumar Kandel said the award was not his alone but the result of the trust and support of his colleagues, school, parents and students.

Foundation Chairperson Dilip Agrawal stated that teachers are indispensable for providing education. He explained that the Foundation aims to identify and honour outstanding teachers and make them a source of inspiration for other teachers.