Kumar Bahukhandi
Sunita Yadav, a primary school teacher from Chhattisgarh’s Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, who has been selected for the National Teachers’ Award 2026-Photo Credit:channel24india.com via CG/DPR
Innovation, technology and compassion give a new direction to primary education
Raipur: In a proud moment for Chhattisgarh, Sunita Yadav, a primary school teacher from Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, has been selected for the National Teachers’ Award 2026. She is the only teacher from the State selected for the prestigious national honour this year.
She will be honoured in New Delhi on Teachers’ Day with a certificate of merit, shawl and prize money in recognition of her contribution to education.
Posted at Government Primary School, Khichri, in the Baramkela development block, Yadav has sought to transform classroom learning by combining innovation, literature and technology. Her teaching approach places particular emphasis on children who tend to fall behind academically, helping them overcome learning gaps and become active participants in the classroom.
Her commitment extends beyond textbooks. Concerned about the health and nutrition of her pupils, she regularly provides milk to children from her own resources and also encourages community participation through Nyota Bhojan, bringing an element of collective responsibility into the school environment.
Technology Meets the Classroom
Yadav uses digital platforms and formats including the DIKSHA app, StoryWeaver, audiobooks, podcasts and short films to make lessons more engaging and accessible. One of her distinctive initiatives involves producing short educational films featuring herself and her pupils, using acting and storytelling to explain subjects in a manner children can easily understand.
Her academic engagement with education extends beyond classroom teaching. She has also prepared a research paper examining changes in primary schools in the context of the National Education Policy 2020. She has taught tribal children at a free summer camp in Bilaspur district as well.
Active in literature and social service, Yadav received the State Teachers’ Award in 2024 and the Pandit Mukutdhar Pandey Smriti Alankaran in 2025. Her social initiatives have included making seed balls for environmental conservation and preparing rakhis for soldiers.
Her selection for the National Teachers’ Award reflects a philosophy in which education goes beyond textbooks and examinations to embrace a child’s health, creativity, technological exposure and social awareness.
For Chhattisgarh, Sunita Yadav’s recognition at the national level is not merely an individual achievement; it also highlights how innovation and compassion at an ordinary primary school can create an extraordinary impact.
