PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya Kondagaon teacher Vinayak Kohli has received national recognition for his innovative teaching methods that combine Bastar’s culture, art and local life with social science education.

A teacher from Bastar has brought national recognition to Chhattisgarh by transforming the way students learn social science. Vinayak Kohli, a social science teacher at PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya Kondagaon, has been selected as the national winner in the geography category at the India’s Best Teachers Awards 2026.The award, organised by Oxford Saïd Business School and Shiv Nadar Foundation, recognised Kohli’s innovative teaching approach. He was selected from more than 9,500 teachers across India, making him one of the youngest educators to receive the honour.

Turning Bastar’s Culture into a Classroom Resource

Kohli’s teaching model focuses on connecting textbook concepts with real-life examples from Bastar. He incorporated local culture, traditions, art forms and geographical features into social science lessons to make learning more practical and engaging for students.Through activities and a social science laboratory approach, students were encouraged to understand geography and society beyond traditional classroom methods.

Honoured by Kondagaon Administration

Following the national recognition, Kondagaon Collector Nupur Rashi Panna honoured Vinayak Kohli at the Collectorate conference hall.The event was attended by District Panchayat CEO Avinash Bhoi, Additional Collector Ajay Uraon, education department officials, principals, teachers and students.During the programme, Kohli presented his teaching model and explained how teachers can use their own skills and interests to make classroom learning more effective.

Began Presentation with Bharatanatyam

Kohli started his presentation with a traditional Bharatanatyam greeting gesture. He has been learning Bharatanatyam for the past seven years.He highlighted that every teacher has a unique skill, art form or interest apart from their subject expertise. When these talents are integrated into teaching, students become more interested and learning becomes more impactful.

Selected Through Three-Stage Process

According to Kohli, the selection process for the national award was conducted in three stages. After competing with thousands of teachers, he was invited to Delhi for the final round.There, he presented his teaching model before professors from Oxford University and other experts. Based on this presentation, he was selected as the national winner in the geography category.

Schools to Develop Geography Labs

Inspired by Kohli’s achievement, Collector Nupur Rashi Panna has directed school principals in the district to develop geography laboratories in their institutions.The initiative aims to promote practical learning methods and provide students with better opportunities to understand subjects through experiments and real-world examples.

The CBSE Class 12 Results 2026 have highlighted a sharp contrast in the academic performance of different school categories in Madhya Pradesh, with government-run institutions outperforming private schools across most indicators. The results released by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) showed that Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) and Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) recorded the highest pass percentages, while independent private schools posted the weakest performance despite having the largest number of students appearing for the examination.

Education experts believe the poor performance of private schools also affected the overall ranking of the Bhopal CBSE region, which slipped to the 19th position among the country’s 22 CBSE regions. The results further revealed a consistent trend of girls outperforming boys across every school category, with female students in the Bhopal region scoring nearly five percentage points higher than male students.

According to CBSE data, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas emerged as the best-performing category in the region with an overall pass percentage of 98.16 percent. The pass percentage among boys stood at 97.81 percent, while girls recorded an impressive 98.73 percent. Education analysts attributed the success of JNVs to their residential academic structure, disciplined learning environment, regular performance monitoring, and focused attention on students from rural and remote areas. The Navodaya model, which aims to provide quality education to talented rural students, has consistently produced strong board examination results over the years.

Kendriya Vidyalayas also maintained their strong academic reputation with an overall pass percentage of 97.90 percent. Boys achieved a pass percentage of 97.66 percent, while girls recorded 98.11 percent. Experts noted that trained teachers, a nationally standardised curriculum, and continuous academic assessment have helped Kendriya Vidyalayas remain among the top-performing institutions in CBSE examinations. Their performance once again remained significantly above the national average.

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), which primarily cater to tribal students, also delivered encouraging results despite operating in challenging social and geographical conditions. The schools recorded an overall pass percentage of 85.47 percent. Boys achieved 83.46 percent, while girls secured 86.89 percent. Education experts described the performance as a positive sign of increasing educational awareness among tribal communities and the growing impact of residential schooling models in remote regions.

Government schools recorded an overall pass percentage of 80.60 percent, with boys achieving 79.86 percent and girls recording 80.88 percent. Experts associated with the education sector stated that despite challenges such as teacher shortages, limited infrastructure, and insufficient digital resources in many areas, the results remained satisfactory. However, they also stressed that improvements in infrastructure, classroom technology, and academic support systems could further improve government school performance in future examinations.

The most concerning picture emerged from private independent schools affiliated with CBSE. These schools had the highest number of registered students, with 61,419 candidates enrolled and 61,242 appearing for the examination. Despite this large participation, the overall pass percentage of private schools stood at only 76.85 percent, the lowest among all school categories. Boys recorded a pass percentage of 74.12 percent, while girls achieved 80.02 percent.

Education experts believe several factors may have contributed to the weak performance of private schools, including commercial pressure, inadequate focus on board examination preparation, rising mental stress among students, and lack of effective academic monitoring. The results have also raised fresh questions regarding the quality of education being delivered in high-fee private institutions, especially when compared to government-supported educational models that achieved far stronger outcomes.

Another major trend visible throughout the results was the superior performance of girls across all categories. In the Bhopal region, boys recorded an overall pass percentage of 76.87 percent, while girls achieved 82.19 percent. Experts attributed this consistent performance gap to better study discipline, greater seriousness towards examinations, and increasing career awareness among female students.

The results also revealed a worrying academic concern within the Bhopal region. More than 12 percent of students failed in all subjects. According to the data, 12.14 percent of total candidates could not clear any subject in the examination. Education specialists described this as a serious indicator of declining learning quality and insufficient academic intervention at the school level. Experts also linked the issue to post-pandemic learning gaps, excessive digital distractions, reduced classroom engagement, and lack of regular study habits among students.

The Bhopal region remains one of the largest CBSE regions in the country, with 1,291 affiliated schools operating under its jurisdiction. In terms of school numbers, it is the second-largest CBSE region after Ludhiana, which has 1,483 schools. Managing examinations and result processing on such a large scale is considered a major administrative responsibility. However, education experts believe the latest results underline the urgent need for academic reforms in both private and government school systems.

The CBSE Class 12 Results 2026 have once again demonstrated that higher fees and modern infrastructure alone do not guarantee academic excellence. Experts pointed out that disciplined learning environments, regular academic monitoring, trained teachers, and focused student support continue to play the most important role in achieving strong board examination results. The continued success of girls across