Avnita Bir is an Indian educator and economist. She is the principal of the R. N. Podar School[1] in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She has worked in the Indian education system for more than 15 years, and she was a curator for Learn Shift India 2012,[2] a conference held in Delhi that was aimed at exchanging ideas on transforming Indian education. In the early years of her career, she was appointed to give special lessons in Economics to the children (Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra) of the late Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.[3]
Avnita Bir | |
|---|---|
 Bir at LearnShift India, 2012 | |
| Born | 31 October 1957 |
| Alma mater | LSR, Delhi Uni. DSE, Delhi Uni. |
| Occupation | Principal of R. N. Podar School |
| Board member of | Governing Board, CBSE |
| Awards | National Award for Teachers (India) (2009) Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award (Inspirational Mentorship)(2013) |
Education
editAvnita Singh parmar was born in Amritsar, Punjab, India on 31 October 1957 into a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family.[4][5] She graduated from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of Delhi[6] before moving to the Delhi school of economics to obtain her post graduate education in economics. She also passed the University Grants Commission (India) (NET) examination for professorship in economics.[6] She also took part in many conferences and workshops related to teaching and learning, at places including Harvard Graduate school of economics and IIM Ahmedabad.[6]
Career
editBir has worked with educational institutions of India, including Mallya Aditi International School,[1][7] Hyderabad Public School[8] and several others, as head of the department and as a coordinator, before joining Podar as a principal.
Recognition
editBir has won awards including the EQFI India Education Awards 2008 for Excellence in Education from the Education Quality Foundation of India and Educational Leadership Award in 2011 by ICS. She has been a member on the board of education reforms committee of Kapil Sibal and later, had been appointed as a member of the governing body of CBSE India. She was featured in newspapers,[9] magazines[1][10] and bulletins conducted by news channels like NDTV[11][12] which concentrated on education and other issues related to students. She has been selected for Kon Boon Hwee Scholars award (2013) for the inspirational mentorship she has offered.[13] Additionally she is one of 80 educators selected by Microsoft for their Mentor School program, which was held in Barcelona, Spain.[14] FICCI FLO conferred on her the Outstanding Woman Achiever Award in the year of 2014 for her contributions in the field of education.[15] She was a presenter and a co-panelist, representing India at Google Education Symposium organised at Mountain View, California, November 2014.[16]
At around the same time in 2016, acknowledging the pivotal role she played in the fields of Technology and Education, she was appointed a member in the advisory board of Google's Global.Edu,[17] a global initiative to bring on-board various leaders, educators, teachers and students for transforming education. In 2023, she was conferred the Lokmani Lal lifetime excellence award by Maharshi Patanjali Vidya Mandir, an award to recognise and honour exceptional teachers from across the country.[18]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Avnita Bir: Visionary Principal". Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ "LSI". learnshiftindia.com. 22 November 2013. Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "DNA: Two months with Gandhi siblings". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
- ^ "Ancestry.com: Bir Family History". ancestry.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Oxford Reference, Dictionary of American Family Names: Bir(185)". oxfordreference.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "India's Learning Agenda | Who is defining this?". archive.constantcontact.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022.
- ^ "School Profile – Mallya Aditi International School". Mallya Aditi International School. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "BEGUMPET". HYDERABAD PUBLIC SCHOOL. 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Pednekar, Puja (21 August 2012). "Mumbai students to study math, English on playground". DNA India. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Mentor Magazine Cover story: Swallowing Discomfort, Spilling Out Guts". mentormagazine.net. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ^ "NDTV video | Anti-rape laws: Age of consent to be lowered". ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022 – via www.ndtv.com.
- ^ "NDTV video | Education: Mini-revolution?". ndtv.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022 – via www.ndtv.com.
- ^ "NTU Convocation: Koh Boon Hwee Scholars Award". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ "Microsoft Educator Network | Global Forum 2014: Meet the Microsoft Mentor Schools | India". Archived from the original on 30 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ^ "Women achievers talk of Grit, Empowerment, Passion and Commitment | Jaipur Patrika". jaipur.patrika.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014.
- ^ "Gafe Summit | All Presenters: Avnita Bir". gafesummit.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ "Film: Education builds a better world". globaledu.com. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "Teachers honoured in Sangam city". The Times of India. 17 December 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
- ^ Ojha, R.R.; Bir, A.R. (1965). Introduction to Economic Theory. Sterling. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ Ojha, R. R. (1989). National income accounting. Place of publication not identified: South Asia Books. ISBN 81-207-0992-6. OCLC 233387721.