Praslin secondary school mathematics teacher Ramruchaya Shivkrishnasingh wins African Union Continental Teacher Prize, 2021 |13 December 2021

Sir Krishna running a class

‘Every child counts and no child should be left behind’

This is one of the greatest principles by which lives Ramruchaya Shivkrishnasingh, better known as ‘Sir Krishna’, Praslin secondary school mathematics teacher and winner of the African Union Continental Teacher Prize, 2021.

Sir Krishna, who joined Praslin secondary school in 2003 after his studies, is a naturalised Seychellois of Mauritian origin. He completed his secondary education in Mauritius followed by tertiary courses in Seychelles and Australia.

Sir Krishna obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Mathematics Education at the Edith Cowan University of Western Australia, graduating as top student in his particular course and among the top Bachelor in Education students. As a mathematics specialist, he was outstanding in both education and the curriculum field.

As stated by the African Union in the call for participation in the Prize competition, teachers do one of the most important jobs in society today and must be treated with the same degree of respect as other high-profile professions. They can make a difference between success and failure in life; and easily determine the quality of education delivered and acquired. Lack of quality education is a major factor behind many social, political, economic and health challenges faced by the world today; as well as contributing to poverty, prejudice, and conflict.

The status of the Teacher in Africa is critically important to achieving Agenda 2063 vision of integration, peace, and prosperity, by facilitating acquisition of not just skills and knowledge, but also requisite values and attitudes. The African Union Teacher Prize has therefore been established as a means of demonstrating respect for teachers and the teaching profession, by encouraging and celebrating the committed teachers in Africa.

The Prize mechanism shines a spotlight on ‘great’ teachers and facilitates sharing of their remarkable stories. It raises the status of teaching and inspires the best possible candidates to join the teaching profession. It is also meant to serve as a catalyst for similar programmes at regional and national levels.

Ministers responsible for Education in African Union member states are requested to nominate and submit names of two teachers, one male and one female, who meet the eligibility criteria for participation.

It was Michael Antoine, head teacher of Praslin secondary school, who suggested that Sir Krishna be nominated to participate in the award based on his dedication and hard work.

“As soon as I saw the invitation to participate, Sir Krishna came to mind. This is based on his devotion and ability to train students of different levels and abilities. When I approached him, he was a bit reluctant, but I encouraged him to go for it as I believe in his great potential,” Mr Antoine shared.

From there Sir Krishna submitted his portfolio whereby he displayed his achievements, challenges and recommendations as a teacher and how best to impact the lives of his students and improve performance and final grades in mathematics.

Sir Krishna conducts free extra classes at school for the less performing students and also holds private classes whereby he also takes on board a few students with financial constraints.

He is also known to work with young, pregnant students in preparing for IGCSE exams as they reach final pregnancy stages and are unable to attend school.

Another highlight of his portfolio is his contribution to the learning of mathematics during the Covid-19 lockdown which was impressive. Students without internet facilities who were unable to follow Zoom classes were given recorded video lessons which he made from his phone and delivered to them; an act which was well appreciated by both students and parents. His outstanding performance qualified him among the top 9 winners of the award, an achievement which came as a surprise to him.

His enthusiasm for teaching mathematics is so remarkable that the Quality Assurance team from the Seychelles Ministry of Education and former Minister for Education, Joel Morgan, considered Sir Krishna as a model of good practice in 2017; another achievement which further embellished his portfolio.

“Sir Krishna demonstrates the ability to produce work targeting different ability groups in the school. He is a committed teacher with a good pedagogy and subject matter. He plans meticulously and is always striving to give his maximum in his work. He has always achieved 100% pass and above 75% principal passes (C or better) in the IGCSE cohort he teaches. He is always up to date with lesson planning and class analyses.”

“Another of his good attributes is his good working relationship with other colleagues, especially in his department, where he is always ready to share his abundance of ideas to improve teaching and learning.”

“I believe that Sir Krishna has the ability to teach any and every student, even the lowest of achievers. As a result, he raises much interest from parents in their children’s education. How he tries to incorporate all those in need in his extra classes is commendable and this also stirs an interest in students from private schools or other levels of education as well,” Mr Antoine commented.

“Today, I myself and the entire school are honoured to see his effort rewarded and we are very proud of him. We hope that his achievement will come as a motivation to both teachers and students to always give your level best in whatever you do.”

“My dedication in the teaching of mathematics, my pro-activeness, hard work and commitment have brought me the respect of teachers, students and parents. This dedication and determination to succeed have brought me many awards both nationally and internationally, together with strong recommendations from both local and overseas educational leaders. Of course, this did not happen accidentally but is rather God’s will for me. I believe that if you work hard and wait patiently on the Lord, you shall be rewarded,” Sir Krishna said.

“My mission is to increase students’ performance in mathematics and I have been committed to this good cause for the past 27 years. I call on all teachers and aspiring teachers to also follow my example and give your best wholeheartedly for your student’s development and success,” he added.

He also expressed his gratitude to his family, present and past work colleagues, head teacher Antoine for believing in him, his students but most importantly to God for blessing him with a vocation that has touched many lives.

“Thank you all for supporting me throughout my journey,” Sir Krishna said.

Sir Krishna, also an active member of the school’s council and voted ‘Best Teacher’ by the students on several occasions, remains one of the students’ all-time favourite. This is due to his devotion and excellent teacher-student relationship where he creates the correct learning environment by professionally mingling well with students and getting through to all, even those with challenging disciplinary behaviour. He can be described as a firm teacher who always pushes his students to aim higher, all the while maintaining great charisma, a personality which has touched the Praslinois community at large.

Contributed