Pune government school wins global award; its peer-learning model appreciated

Four months after being shortlisted for the 'World's Best School Prize,' a Zilla Parishad (ZP) school in Pune district has bagged the Community Choice Award at the 2025 edition of the global competition.

Among other things, the award recognised the school's peer learning system where students learn from each other.

Jalindarnagar Zilla Parishad School in Khed tehsil was declared winner in the Community Choice Award category from among 50 short-listed schools, the organisers announced at a virtual ceremony on Tuesday night.

Notably, district authorities were going to close the school in 2022 as it had only five students on its rolls.

After Dattatray Ware, a national award-winning teacher, was transferred there, he mobilised local residents to rebuild the school infrastructure and introduced novel learning practices, leading to a rise in enrolment. The school now has 120 students.

The World's Best School Prizes are presented annually by London-based T4 Education, which describes itself as a global platform of over two lakh teachers from more than 100 countries. The prizes are awarded in five categories: Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity and Supporting Healthy Lives. The Community Choice Award is given on the basis of public voting.

Other finalists for the 2025 awards were schools from Brazil, the United Kingdom, Dubai, Pakistan, Italy, Costa Rica and Argentina.

The award ceremony, held virtually, saw finalists joining live from their school premises. As Jalindarnagar School's name was announced, jubilation broke out on the campus.

Ware said the school will receive the award in November at the World Education Summit in Abu Dhabi.

"Our selection was based on the innovative teaching practices adopted by the school and the strong community support we received," he said.  "This recognition will boost the confidence of our teachers and students and inspire other schools to replicate our model," said Ware, fondly called Guruji.

Among the teaching practices he introduced is the 'Subject Friend' system.

In its citation, T4 Education stated that the ZP School Jalindarnagar is revolutionising public school education.

A shortage of teachers, coupled with a belief that children learn better from their peers, prompted Ware to introduce the Subject Friend system, in noted.

Under this system, students of different ages are put in groups, with an older, more knowledgeable student becoming a "subject leader." These leaders help the younger students with lessons and homework, the citation said.

Gajanan Patil, Chief Executive Officer, Pune Zilla Parishad, congratulated Ware, other teachers, students and parents for the award, noting that the school's peer-learning model has set a global benchmark.