Meet Debajit Ghosh, a 34-year-old teacher from Assam, whose determination has transformed education for tea garden communities. Travelling 150 km daily through the difficult terrain of Dihing Patkai National Park, where elephant crossings and muddy roads are common, Ghosh reaches Namsang Tea Estate Model School to teach children who once dropped out after primary education, reported Indian Express.

On a mission! 

Though the commute is long, Ghosh continues to live in Dibrugarh to coordinate developmental work. Along the way, he brings two teachers in his car while others follow on bikes, since no public transport reaches the school. 

His efforts have earned him a place among 45 teachers selected for the National Teachers’ Award 2025, to be presented by President Droupadi Murmu on September 5.

Transforming education in tea gardens

Appointed principal of Namsang Tea Garden Adarsha School in 2022, Ghosh has enabled access to secondary education for the first time in these communities. The school enrolled 271 students in its first year, rising to 326 the next year, bringing over 300 out-of-school children back to classrooms.

Ghosh emphasises interactive, hands-on learning using experiments, toy-making, ICT tools, virtual labs, and 3D websites. “Students today are tech-savvy. If you deliver monotonous lectures, they will never listen. But if you show them concepts interactively, they engage with joy,” he said.

His work also extends to student health, with initiatives under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) improving haemoglobin levels among children in the region.