Raipur
Sunita Yadav, a primary school teacher from Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, has been selected as the sole recipient from Chhattisgarh for the National Teachers Award 2026. She will receive a certificate of merit, a shawl, and a cash prize in New Delhi on Teachers’ Day.
Yadav teaches at Government Primary School, Khichri, in Baramkela block. She received the State Teachers Award in 2024, followed by the Pandit Mukutdhar Pandey Smriti Alankaran award in 2025 for her literary contributions. Outside the classroom, she participates in social initiatives, including making seed balls for environmental conservation and crafting rakhis for armed forces personnel.
To provide experience-based learning, Yadav incorporates literature into primary education. She personally funds daily milk distribution for students to improve their nutrition and health, and organizes community feast programs (Nyota Bhojan) at her school.
She is the first female teacher in the district to publish a research paper on structural changes in Sarangarh-Bilaigarh primary schools following the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020. During a previous posting at Government Primary School in Tilakdih, Bilaspur district, she organized free summer teaching camps for tribal children.
In her classroom, Yadav uses Information and Communication Technology tools, including the DIKSHA app and StoryWeaver. She produces educational short films featuring herself and her students, creates audiobooks and podcasts, maintains educational blogs, and operates a smart classroom setup.
Born in Sankra Jonk, Mahasamund district, to Pathan Nag Yadav and Rupa Yadav, she completed her primary education locally. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Arts College, Pithora, a master’s degree in English literature from Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, and a B.Ed. degree from Pandit Sundarlal Sharma Open University, Bilaspur. She is married to Nandkumar Yadav, a businessman based in Baramkela. Their daughter, Srijana Yadav, studies Journalism and Mass Communication at Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya.
