Dr Hariswami Das, headmaster of Sovanagar  High School in Malda district of West Bengal has been awarded the Global Teacher award 2020 by the AKS Education Award committee in GALA Ceremony on 20th December 2020. He has been awarded the GTA 2020 along with his co-awardees from 110 countries. He has also been a part of the global teacher inspiration week from 14th to 19th December.                  

Hariswami Das was born on 17th November 1973 in a far-flung village named Lakshmipur, in the district of Dakshin Dinajpur. His father is the most popular teacher and a famous writer as well, having many well-settled students in the nation and abroad. And the mother of Hariswami, who is also a teacher, is an incarnation of service and sacrifice. The pious attitude of his mother is the only inspiration behind all the work in life. Born in such a sacred family Hariswami followed the footsteps of his parents.           

After joining the School as Headmaster in 2014, he along with his colleagues and management have taken the initiatives on consciousness on health and hygiene. And, the result is the Nirmal Vidyalaya Award received in 2014. Gradually, the students actively participated in sports, cultural activities, social service, etc. under the guidance of dedicated teachers. The students grabbed the prestigious award of representation of the science model at the State Level many times. The school has been awarded Shishu Mitra Award in 2018 for the best child-friendly School in the district and finally has been awarded Jamini Roy Award for best School in the state of West Bengal by the Dept. of Education, Govt. Of West Bengal and UNICEF, 2019.

Through his teaching, he prioritizes developing ethical, moral, and social values in his students. As an administrator, he developed the complete environment of the school as per the BALA concept. Most of the students of the school are experienced with financial struggles. So, he designed and implemented several environmental projects with his students, a self-help group of women, and local people to produce organic fertilizers, vermicompost, organic farming, etc.

As Headmaster, Hariswami Das has brought new facilities for his girls. He has installed a sanitary napkin vending machine and incinerator for his girls with his initiatives. He did not leave any stone unturned to ensure that the school is as girl child friendly as possible.

The use of plastic is a great threat to human society. And it is a challenge to motivate people to make a plastic-free world. Sovanagar High School has taken up the challenge in its way under the leadership of its headmaster. After a discussion with the members of the child cabinet, the Managing Committee of the school announced that the students may avail concessions in the admission of their classes if they deposit plastic waste as ECO BRICKS.

Furthermore, the Science Club of his school prepared masks and sanitizers in the school campus and distributed among the students, teachers, examinees, villagers, and in the surrounding villages. He is the coordinator of the science club which is affiliated with the VIPNET, Vigyan Prasar Network, DST, Govt. of India. During the lockdown, he visited the home of students with a group of fellow teachers to motivate them and encouraged their education. Besides these, his research works have been published in many national and international journals.

Previously He was awarded with a Certificate of Appreciation by Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, honourable Minister of Human Resource Development, Government of India at IIT, Delhi, 2020. He has also been awarded with Nation Builder Award,  2019  by Rotary India Literacy Mission on 5th September 2019. He has also received the Best teacher award,  Best Principal Award, and best Research excellence award from INSC, Bangalore in 2020.  He was also nominated for Super 30 by iB Hub in 2019.

Considering his works the AKS Education Award committee awarded him the Global Teacher award 2020.