CHANDIGARH, Sept. 6 -- A discarded piece of material can become a model. A classroom can become a laboratory. And a government-school teacher can turn a school in Maloya Colony into a space where children do much more than reading about science, they experience it.

For 44-year-old science teacher Ravi Kumar Jaiswal, this has been a years-long experiment. At Government Model High School, Maloya Colony, he has created a 3D dome theatre, science and knowledge park, weather station, child-centric laboratory and a science lab on a cart. Jaiswal says the ideas and creations behind these initiatives are his own.

That approach has now earned him the National Teachers' Award 2026. Jaiswal is among 48 teachers selected for the national honour and...