Beltangady-based ‘kanike dabbi mestru’ to receive State govt’s best teacher award

Beltangady: Edward D’Souza, a teacher at a government school at Kattadabail in the taluk here has been selected by the Karnataka government to receive the best teacher award for 2021.

D’Souza had joined the school in 2003. The school was then in a dilapidated state and was even considered to be closed.

D’Souza gave donation boxes to residents of the villages and other prominent political and social personalities and asked them to drop one rupee every day into it for the school.

He too started to save money for redeveloping the school.

For this reason, he came to be known as ‘kanike dabbi mestru’ (donation box teacher).

After more than three years he collected about Rs 3.33 lakhs for the school’s redevelopment.

The school still receives donations which D’Souza uses in organising special programmes conducted at the school.