Inspired by a PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya teacher's national recognition for an innovative "social science lab", the Kondagaon administration has directed all schools in the district to develop geography laboratories to promote practical, experience-based learning. According to the official circular shared, Kondagaon Collector Nupur Rashi Panna has decided to establish geography labs in the district's schools using the same format.
Vinayak Kohli, a social science teacher at PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) Kondagaon, was named the national winner in the Geography category at the India's Best Teachers Awards 2026, jointly organised by Oxford Said Business School and the Shiv Nadar Foundation.
Selected from more than 9,400 teachers across 32 states and Union Territories, Kohli's model integrated Bastar's culture, art, local geography and everyday life into classroom teaching, turning the class into a working laboratory rather than a textbook-only space.
Following the award, Kondagaon Collector Panna announced that principals across the district will now set up geography labs in their institutions. The initiative, framed under the district's geography laboratory and art-integrated teaching project, aims to connect students with local soil, crops, forests, crafts and livelihoods while teaching map work, physical and human geography through models, mini-museums and student-led projects.
Based on the departmental review meeting held on September 9, 2026, under the chairmanship of Collector Panna, the administration announced the construction of geography labs in one school each selected in all the development blocks of Kondagaon district. The official order has directed the principals of the selected schools to ensure that a room is made available for construction of Geography Laboratory,
READ MORE | How A "Social Science Lab" In Kondagaon Helped Vinayak Kohli Win National Honour
The district's administration has appointed Kohli as the Head Mentor for the project. According to the official notice, as the chief mentor, Kohli's responsibilities will include providing guidance and advice regarding the design, structure, and pedagogical format of laboratories; providing guidelines for the effective implementation of art-integrated learning in the district's schools; to act as a mentor to the district's Social Science, Geography, History, and Art teachers, providing them training and support; and to lead the team by visiting selected schools from time to time and ensuring the quality of implementation.
The district's administration noted that the initiative will provide the students of Kondagaon "the benefit of experiential and action-based education, fulfill the objectives of the National Education Policy 2020, preserve and promote the rich art and cultural heritage of Bastar, and make Kondagaon the first district in the state where this model will be implemented on a large scale."
The administration has directed all heads of the concerned institutions to provide the necessary support to the chief mentor in implementing the project.
As per the circular, the principals of all selected schools are directed to fix a time for the students along with the Geography subject teacher or in-charge to visit the laboratory at PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya Kondagaon.
