Heipor Uni Bang will be honoured by President Droupadi Murmu in
New Delhi on September 5
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Aug 25: The principal and owner of KB Memorial Secondary School, East Jaintia Hills, Heipor Uni Bang, has been selected for the National Teachers’ Award 2025 from Meghalaya. The announcement was made on Monday.
Bang is among 45 educators across the country who will be honoured by President Droupadi Murmu at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi during the Teachers’ Day celebration on September 5.
This is not Bang’s first recognition. He received the District Teachers’ Award in 2021 and the State Teachers’ Award in 2024.
In the same year, he completed his PhD in Environmental Management from William Carey University, Nongmensong, with a thesis on “Challenges and Opportunities of Solid Waste Management of East Jaintia Hills District of Meghalaya, India.”
He is also a lifetime member of the Red Cross Society, a recognition he received from the Governor in 2015-2016.
In addition, he has served as a member of the Juvenile Justice Board, Khliehriat, and taught at Thomas Jones Synod College, Jowai, between 2014 and 2017.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Bang expressed his joy over being selected for the national honour. He credited his success to the support of his family and the encouragement of the district and state education departments.
“I would also like to thank God for guiding me to take up the teaching profession and allowing me to serve society in my own small way,” he said.
Bang began his teaching journey in 2009, soon after completing his MSc in Botany. His first assignment was at Little Flower Secondary School, Khliehriat, where he taught for a year before moving to Rymbai Presbyterian Higher Secondary School in 2013.
In 2013, he founded KB Memorial Secondary School after parents, impressed by his tuition classes, urged him to establish an affordable English-medium school in the area.
“Many parents could not afford to send their children to English-medium schools as the fees were too high. So, I started KB Memorial Secondary School with a monthly fee of ₹200 to serve underprivileged children,” he recalled.
From its humble beginnings, the school grew quickly. It started with students up to Class XI in 2013 and sent its first Class X batch for the SSLC exams in 2015 under MBoSE.
Over the years, the school became notable for its inclusivity, particularly towards persons with disabilities (PwDs). “Many PwD students had no opportunity for formal education. I took the initiative to provide them free education,” Bang said. By 2022, the PwD students from the school appeared for the SSLC exams, three of them succeeding. In 2024, a student with an intellectual disability brought laurels to the school by securing first division with letters.
“This is the first school in the area to include children with disabilities, even though we do not have teachers formally trained in special education. I always tell my teachers to treat PwD students with compassion, dedication, and love,” Bang emphasised.
Bang continues to take classes in Science, Technology, and Environmental Studies.
He also updates the school’s general knowledge books every year with information on state and district affairs, while the Khasi textbooks written by him are taught up to Class IV.
Bang completed his SSLC from Government Boys’ Higher Secondary School, followed by his Higher Secondary and BSc (Botany) from Shillong College. He then pursued his MSc (Botany) at NEHU before embarking on his teaching career.