The prestigious Derozio award for excellence in the field of education was conferred upon four heads of schools from across the country during the valedictory function of the 92nd Association of Heads of Anglo-Indian Schools of India held at Bishop Cotton Boys’ School on Wednesday.
The award, which was instituted by the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations in 1999, is in the memory of Anglo-Indian leader Henry Louis Vivian Derozio – a nationalist poet and teacher from West Bengal.
The winners of the 2013 Derozio award are John K. Zachariah, principal of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School in Bangalore; Norina Fernandez, principal of Lilavatibai Podar High School in Mumbai, Maharashtra; Jagpreet Singh, headmaster of Punjab Public School in Nabha, Punjab; Neena Singh, principal of Himalayan Public School in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
The Laksman Public School in New Delhi and Ashadeep School in Guwahati also received the award in the special educational institution category.
The award consists of an engraved gold medal, a citation, a silver plaque, certificate and Rs. one lakh in cash.
Giving away the awards, Governor H R Bhardwaj lauded the contribution of Anglo-Indian and missionary institutions such as Bishop Cotton and The Doon School. “I often meet highly motivated and successful people who are from these schools,” he said. He also recalled the contribution of the Jesuit priest and educationist Marshall D. Moran and said, “We have a powerful system of education inherited from missionary-run institutions.”
English necessaryMr. Bhardwaj expressed displeasure at the growing linguistic fanaticism and provincialism, which is resulting in rejection of English education in several regions of the country.
“Dismantling the systems established by Anglo-Indian educationists and replacing them with linguistic institutions is not good,” he said.
