“A instructor ought to at all times stay a scholar”: Rajashekar Ragati’s easy mantra has earned him a number of laurels throughout his 15-year educating profession. Rajashekar, 43, a authorities highschool instructor within the Kittur taluk in Karnataka’s Belagavi, has not solely reworked the lives of his college students but in addition redefined classroom studying by way of modern educating strategies.
His unwavering contribution to training earned him the distinguished state-level Finest Trainer award for 2025-26, alongside different academics, on Friday from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. That is the second such honour, following the primary time in 2010. Actually, he’s additionally the primary instructor from Kittur Taluk to obtain the state-level Finest Trainer award.
Rajashekar’s method to educating is rooted in his perception that ‘a instructor ought to at all times stay a scholar’.
Born in 1981 to a middle-class household within the Halasangi village within the Vijayapura district, Rajashekar’s adolescence was marked by each ambition and adversity. Rising up in Halasangi, he attended an area authorities major college and later a personal highschool in Indi taluk. His educational journey, nevertheless, took a turbulent flip.
“After enrolling in a science school in Vijayapura on my father’s insistence, I discovered myself disinterested and dropped out,” he says. A call that led him to go away dwelling at a younger age. For 3 years, he minimize ties along with his household, surviving by working odd jobs—resort employees, medical store assistant, and provider at a courtroom canteen in Hubballi.
“Life was powerful. I used to be sleeping on platforms at Bengaluru’s Majestic bus stand, utilizing newspapers to protect myself from the chilly,” he added.
A turning level got here throughout his time in Hubballi. Working at a canteen subsequent to a Sai Temple, Rajashekar sought divine steerage and felt compelled to reconnect along with his household. He wrote a letter, requesting his SSLC mark card to pursue job alternatives. His household, overjoyed to listen to from him, welcomed him again to Vijayapura with out reproach.
This emotional reunion marked the start of his transformation. Whereas his father Kalyanappa Ragati insisted on pursuing training, Rajashekar needed to accept a job in a kirana retailer.
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Nevertheless, decided to rebuild his life, he pursued his Pre-College Course (PUC), securing 56 per cent in 2002, and later accomplished a BA diploma at GRB Arts School with a powerful 70 per cent. He went on to earn a BEd from J H Patel BEd School in Sindagi on a authorities seat, laying the inspiration for his educating profession.
“If not for my father’s continued persuasion, I wouldn’t be what I’m at this time,” he says.
Rajashekar’s path to changing into an educator was removed from clean. Impressed by his mentor NM Biradar at Chanakya Profession Academy in Vijayapura, he initially aspired to hitch the civil companies, teaching in historical past, geography, and political science.
“I utilized for roles like PSI, FDA, and SDA, and even tried the Karnataka Administrative Service (KAS) exams, clearing the preliminaries and showing for the mains,” he says. Regardless of coming tantalisingly shut—lacking choice by only one or two marks in a number of exams—he confronted repeated setbacks.
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In 2009, whereas residing in a room at Siddeshwara Swami Ji Ashram and immersing himself in yoga and ethical teachings, he ready for the highschool instructor recruitment examination with willpower. His efforts paid off: he secured eighth rank within the Belagavi division and obtained his first appointment in 2010 as a instructor on the Authorities Excessive College in Hirenandihalli, Chennamma Kittur Taluk.
Rajashekar’s method to educating is rooted in his perception that ‘a instructor ought to at all times stay a scholar’. “I strongly imagine {that a} instructor’s job isn’t restricted to teachers however to instil the enjoyment of studying amongst college students,” he says.
Drawing from his personal struggles, he sought to make studying participating and related for his college students. Recognising the challenges rural college students face, he launched modern strategies to simplify advanced social science ideas. His classroom grew to become an area for inspiration, the place he emphasised character growth, yoga, and goal-setting alongside teachers.
“I failed many instances, so I train my college students the best way to set objectives and harness the facility of their minds,” he says.
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Social science laboratory in class
His efforts bore fruit: his college persistently achieved a 100 per cent go fee in social science on the SSLC degree, with a number of college students scoring good marks yr after yr. Certainly one of Rajashekar’s most groundbreaking contributions is the institution of a state-of-the-art social science laboratory at his college—the primary of its type within the Belagavi district.
Pissed off by the summary nature of social science, he envisioned a hands-on studying surroundings that includes charts, fashions, maps, digital globes, smartboards, and projectors. To fund this initiative, he turned to his college’s alumni, making a WhatsApp group in 2022. Throughout Deepavali, he seeded the hassle with Rs 1,000 of his personal cash, inspiring one other instructor to contribute the identical. Inside days, college students, alumni, and neighborhood members raised Rs 50,000.
The lab has since reworked studying, fostering curiosity and dialogue amongst college students. “Rural youngsters now have entry to digital training. Moreover, the maps, charts and fashions assist simplify advanced ideas,” he says.
Past the classroom, Rajashekar embraced expertise to succeed in a wider viewers. His YouTube channel, with over 7,000 subscribers, gives video classes for SSLC college students and presents steerage on aggressive exams. Through the Covid-19 pandemic, he contributed to the Division of State Instructional Analysis and Coaching (DSERT) by creating digital studying content material and collaborating in workshops to create scholar exercise books, which are actually used throughout Karnataka’s authorities colleges.
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His function as a taluka and district-level useful resource individual additional amplified his affect, coaching academics to implement modern educational applications. Rajashekar’s philosophy is deeply influenced by religious leaders like Sadhguru, whose Inside Engineering program reworked his private, financial {and professional} life. He practices meditation and conducts weekly periods for his college students, fostering self-discipline and psychological readability.
“The place there’s humanity, the Almighty’s blessings will observe,” he says, including that his aim will at all times be to instil a aggressive spirit amongst college students and assist them obtain their huge desires, resembling changing into an IAS or IPS officer.