Ranjitsinh Disale, an Ed.M. student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education | Photo Credit: Soma Shivshetti
When Ranjitsinh Disale, an Ed.M. student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, won the Global Teacher Prize 2020 for transforming education for young girls at Zilla Parishad Primary School in Paritewadi, Solapur, Maharashtra, India, he made a remarkable gesture. He announced that he would share 50% of his prize money equally among his fellow finalists to support their initiatives, stating, “I believe, together, we can change this world because sharing is growing.”
Disale remains deeply committed to advancing educational cooperation on both micro and macro levels. In a conversation with the Mittal Institute, he reflects on his journey since winning the award and the driving forces behind his work.
Mittal Institute: Ranjitsinh, take us back to those first days at the Zilla Parishad Primary School in 2009 – the school building was dilapidated, attendance hovered around 2%, and the curriculum wasn’t even in the students’ primary language. You were determined to make a change – how did you decide what to tackle first?
Ranjitsinh Disale: I still remember my first day—January 5th, 2009. I was young, full of passion, and eager to teach. But what I saw when I arrived at Zilla Parishad Primary School, Paritewadi, left me stunned. My classroom was not just in disrepair—it was sandwiched between a cow shed and a storeroom. The air smelled of fodder, buffaloes roamed nearby, and sacks of grain were stacked where children were supposed to sit and learn. Only 2% of students were attending school, and frankly, who would want to study in such conditions?
But what shocked me even more was the parents’ indifference. I had expected them to be concerned about their children’s education, to demand better conditions. Instead, they had resigned themselves to the belief that education was a waste of time and money. That was my first challenge—changing their mindset. I knew that unless parents valued education, no amount of classroom improvement would bring students back.
For the first six months, I worked outside the classroom. I went door-to-door, surveying families, understanding their struggles, their cultural and economic backgrounds. I discovered an interesting insight—women in the village were more educated than men. That realization shaped my approach. If I could win over the mothers, I could change the future of their children.
“I discovered an interesting insight—women in the village were more educated than men. That realization shaped my approach. If I could win over the mothers, I could change the future of their children.”
I set three key goals:
- Changing parental attitudes towards education – I engaged mothers in community meetings, shared success stories, and showed them how education could transform their children’s lives.
- Ensuring 100% student attendance – I created a welcoming school environment, promising parents that education would be worth their trust.
- Providing access to quality education – Once students came to school, I had to make learning engaging and meaningful.
My first battle was not inside the classroom—it was in the minds of the parents. But once they believed in education, everything else started falling into place.
Building student confidence through positive reinforcement—small gestures like a high-five can make a big difference. Pic Credit: Vaibhav Gadekar.
Mittal Institute: One of your most innovative interventions was translating textbooks into your students’ native language and embedding them with QR codes to provide access to additional learning materials. Can you tell us more about how these QR-coded textbooks worked and how they transformed your lessons?
Ranjitsinh Disale: The QR-coded textbooks were not born out of a planned innovation—it was just an effort to turn curiosity into action. At the time, I was experimenting with an “edutainment” approach, blending learning with entertainment to keep my students engaged. I created my own educational videos and presentations and would play them on my laptop for the class. The students loved it. In fact, they enjoyed the videos so much that they started requesting access to them outside of school hours. Initially, I transferred the files to their mobile devices, but this method was unreliable—some parents’ devices didn’t support the file format, others lost the data, and technical issues frequently interrupted the process.
One day, while shopping, I noticed a storekeeper scanning a QR code on a product, instantly retrieving details. Curious, I asked him how it worked, but he didn’t know the technical aspects. That night, I turned to Google to learn everything I could about QR codes—how they store information, how they are generated, and how they can be customized. I immediately saw the potential for education. What if my students could scan a QR code in their textbooks and instantly access digital learning materials? I created an initial set of 27 QR codes, each linked to a different educational resource—videos, assignments, interactive presentations. The next day, I printed and pasted these QR codes onto my students’ textbooks, assigning a unique QR code to each chapter. When I introduced it in class, the students were thrilled. They eagerly scanned the codes at home, excited by the novelty and ease of accessing lessons on their own. However, within three days, we encountered a new problem—the QR codes had a scanning limit, and the students’ enthusiasm exceeded that limit. I had to quickly find a workaround, ensuring unlimited access.My lessons were no longer confined to the classroom. The QR codes allowed students to continue their learning journey at home, accessing multimedia explanations that deepened their understanding. The QR codes shifted the dynamic of my classroom from teacher-centered to student-driven learning. Students started taking ownership of their learning, reviewing lessons at their convenience, revisiting concepts they found difficult, and even exploring topics beyond the syllabus. In rural India, not every student has a laptop or stable internet, but most households have at least one mobile phone. The QR codes made technology-enabled learning accessible even in resource-constrained settings, ensuring that students could access educational content with minimal infrastructure.
After a successful one-year pilot in my school, I realized the immense potential of this approach. In 2015, I expanded the project to 300 schools in the Madha block of Solapur district, learning valuable lessons about scaling technology-based interventions in public education. Encouraged by its success, in 2016, I proposed the idea to the Maharashtra State Government, advocating for statewide implementation. They embraced the concept, and soon after, QR-coded textbooks became an official initiative across Maharashtra’s public schools.
Today, QR-coded textbooks are used across all government schools in India, impacting millions of students. What started as a simple classroom experiment has now transformed learning at a national scale, empowering students with personalized, self-paced education anytime, anywhere.
“Today, QR-coded textbooks are used across all government schools in India, impacting millions of students. What started as a simple classroom experiment has now transformed learning at a national scale, empowering students with personalized, self-paced education anytime, anywhere.”
Using creative teaching methods to engage students—puppet storytelling makes learning fun and interactive. Photo Credit: Vaibhav Gadekar.
Mittal Institute: What motivates your work and dedication?
Ranjitsinh Disale: Whenever people ask me what I’m most proud of, they often expect me to talk about awards, policies, or large-scale innovations. But for me, the answer is much simpler—it’s my students.
I still remember the day Sakshi, a girl from my village, became the first person in our community to graduate. It was not just her success—it was a moment that changed the belief system of an entire village. When I first arrived at Zilla Parishad Primary School in 2009, education was not a priority. Parents saw schooling as an obligation, something that took children away from household work rather than as a pathway to a better future. But over the years, as students like Sakshi broke barriers, something fundamental shifted. Parents who once dismissed education as a luxury now fight to ensure their children go to school. Today, there isn’t a single child in my village left behind—every child is in school, learning, thriving, and daring to dream.
“But over the years … something fundamental shifted. Parents who once dismissed education as a luxury now fight to ensure their children go to school. Today, there isn’t a single child in my village left behind—every child is in school, learning, thriving, and daring to dream.”
After receiving the Global Teacher Prize in 2020, I was given a rare opportunity—not just to celebrate success but to multiply it. I invested a portion of the prize money into transforming my own school, rebuilding classrooms with better infrastructure, access to technology, and a more enriching learning environment. But my vision was always bigger than one school—so I expanded my impact to 20 more schools in my district.
Electricity had always been a challenge in rural areas, limiting the use of digital learning tools. So, to ensure that learning never stops, I installed solar panels on the rooftops of 20 schools. These solar-powered classrooms now run digital equipment without interruptions, making education sustainable, innovative, and future-ready. Additionally, a mobile van carrying 60 tablets visits these schools once a week, providing extra lessons focused on Mathematics and English. This initiative ensures that students receive personalized digital support in subjects that are critical for their academic foundation.
But perhaps what makes me most proud is the shift in mindset that has taken place. Students are no longer passive learners; they are leaders, innovators, and changemakers. They don’t just study for exams—they explore, they create, and they take ownership of their education.
If you visit Zilla Parishad Primary School today, you will see something truly special: classrooms buzzing with curiosity, students using technology not just to consume knowledge but to create solutions, and a community where education is no longer just an institution—it is a movement.
I may have started as a teacher in a small village school, but today, my students are the ones leading the transformation. And that, above all else, is what makes me the most proud.
Ranjitsinh interacting with students. Photo Credit: Vaibhav Gadekar.
Mittal Institute: You are passionate about training both students and educators. Through virtual lessons, you’ve reached over 85,000 students across 1,400+ classrooms in 83 countries and trained more than 16,000 in-service teachers across Maharashtra on integrating technology in education. What fuels your passion for lifelong learning?
Ranjitsinh Disale: I believe that being a teacher is not just about delivering lessons—it is about understanding, evolving, and staying relevant in a rapidly changing world. Students of the 21st century are being taught by teachers of the 20th century using a curriculum from the 19th century with techniques from the 18th century. That gap is what fuels my passion for lifelong learning.I never want my students to say, “Sir, you don’t understand us. You don’t speak our language of learning.” Instead, I want to be the kind of teacher who understands their world, adapts to their learning styles, and empowers them to unleash their full potential. I see learning not as a one-time process but as a continuous journey, and my greatest teachers have been my students themselves.
They ask questions that challenge me, questions that push me beyond what I know. And there are moments when I don’t have the answers. But that’s where the magic happens—because when I don’t know something, I don’t stop there. I seek, I explore, I learn. And in doing so, I model for them what lifelong learning truly looks like.Lifelong learning is not just about accumulating knowledge—it is about turning curiosity into action. That is what my students have taught me, and that is why I continue this journey—not just as a teacher, but as a learner alongside them.
Because the moment a teacher stops learning, they stop inspiring. And I want to inspire, always.
Mittal Institute: Beyond your work in classrooms, you are deeply committed to fostering peace and cross-border connections. Your “Let’s Cross the Borders” initiative has brought together young people from India and Pakistan, Palestine and Israel, Iraq and Iran, and even the U.S. and North Korea. Can you share more about this program and how it has impacted students?
Ranjitsinh Disale: In 2014, the Global Peace Index revealed a sobering truth—the world has been growing less peaceful every year. Conflicts persist, new divisions emerge, and generations of young people grow up seeing borders not as lines on a map, but as walls between hearts and minds.
This realization troubled me deeply. I asked myself, “What kind of world are we leaving behind for our children? Will they inherit a future defined by division or by unity?” Wars and conflicts have existed for centuries, but do they have to define the next generation too? Isn’t education a more powerful force than war?
That is when I conceived “Let’s Cross the Borders”—a project designed to replace division with dialogue, hatred with understanding, and war with wisdom. This initiative brings together students from conflict-ridden countries—India and Pakistan, Israel and Palestine, Iraq and Iran, the U.S. and North Korea—to learn that the person they are taught to see as an enemy might actually be a friend waiting to be discovered. This is not just a project; it is a journey toward peace. Over six weeks, students embark on a transformative experience: Initially they will be paired with a ‘Peace Buddy’ from other country and over next 6 weeks they will partner with each other. They try to find root cause of a problem, finds similarities and differences between each other and get to know about peace strategies like peace-making, peace-building and peace-keeping. The final step is deeply personal. Each student writes their own Peace Pledge, committing to reject violence, embrace dialogue, and be ambassadors of peace in their communities.
In the past few years, over 22,000 students have participated in this program, forming what I call a “Peace Army”—young leaders trained not in war, but in wisdom. My dream is to reach 50,000 students by 2030, aligning this initiative with Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.
The impact has been profound: 80% of participants report a significant reduction in violent behavior, as observed by their teachers. Students who once harbored resentment toward “the other side” now see themselves as global citizens. Many go on to become peace advocates, initiating conversations within their own communities, breaking the cycle of inherited hatred.
One of the most moving moments for me came when a student from India and a student from Pakistan, after weeks of interaction, wrote a poem together—not about war, but about friendship. They ended it with the lines:
“We were never enemies, we were just strangers who hadn’t met.”
This initiative is not just about resolving political tensions; it is about transforming hearts and minds. It is about teaching young people that peace is not the absence of war—it is the presence of understanding. I take my inspiration from the greatest peace leaders of all time—Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela—and I believe that if we truly want to honor their legacies, we must teach peace as fiercely as some have taught hate.
I do not want to leave behind a world where borders define relationships, where conflicts define history, where war defines identity. I want to leave behind a world where the next generation feels safe, empowered, and free—a world where they do not just live but thrive together.
This is my contribution. This is my mission. Because peace is not something we inherit—it is something we build.
Mittal Institute: What motivated you to pursue a graduate degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education? And what aspirations do you have, post-graduation?
Ranjitsinh Disale: For 15 years, I was in the classroom—not just teaching, but transforming lives. I witnessed firsthand how education can break generational cycles of poverty, how a single opportunity can change the trajectory of a child’s life. But I also saw something else—the limitations of individual impact.I could change my classroom. I could transform my school. I could even inspire change in my village. But what about the millions of students who remain trapped in failing education systems? I realized that to scale transformation, I needed to move beyond the classroom and work at the systemic level.
That realization brought me to Harvard Graduate School of Education. I wanted to combine my on-the-ground experience as a teacher and changemaker with the skills, knowledge, and policy expertise needed to reform education at scale. My journey has always been about action, but now, it is also about strategy—learning how good policies are designed, how evidence-based decisions are made, and how education systems can be reimagined for the 21st century.
Post-graduation, my vision is clear. I aspire to work with governments, global institutions, and education organizations to redesign policies that are not just well-written, but well-implemented. I bring to the table creativity, innovation, and firsthand experience of what works in real classrooms—but I am also developing the technical expertise to shape policies that can scale impact across entire nations.
Because transformation should not be a privilege of a few—it should be the right of every child, in every classroom, everywhere. And my mission is to make that a reality.
☆ The views represented herein are those of the interview subject and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mittal Institute, its staff, or its Steering Committee.
