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Ladakh Teacher Wins National Award For Cave Classrooms
Mohd Mustafa Kamal is a teacher from Ladakh who teaches Social Science in creative ways.
He received the National Teachers Award 2026 for his work.
His students learn in old shelters, museums and specially arranged classrooms.
Some of the shelters were made during the 1999 Kargil War.
Students study local history, geography, culture and community life in these places.
They also make clay models and paint cave walls.
In another activity, students pretend to be members of Parliament and debate issues.
Kamal also uses digital tools and educational games to make lessons more interesting.
His methods help children learn by seeing, doing and asking questions.
Mohd Mustafa Kamal, a teacher from Ladakh’s Kargil district, received the National Teachers Award 2026.
He converted war-era bunkers, local heritage sites and classrooms into hands-on Social Science learning spaces.
His initiatives include the Cave Classroom, Museum Classroom and Classroom Parliament.
Kamal uses tools including School Bhuvan, Google Earth, Stellarium, Kahoot and Quizizz.
The Education Ministry said he has trained more than 1,000 teachers in context-based education.
- Who
- Mohd Mustafa Kamal, a 41-year-old teacher from Wakha village near Kargil, was honoured by President Droupadi Murmu.
- What
- He received the National Teachers Award 2026 for experiential, contextual and technology-enabled Social Science education.
- Where
- At a government middle school in Kargil district, Ladakh, and during a ceremony in New Delhi.
- When
- The award was conferred on September 5, Teachers’ Day; Kamal’s reported educational initiatives have been developed since 2011.
- Why
- He was recognised for transforming remote classrooms through cave-based learning, local heritage projects, classroom debates and digital tools.
Key facts
- Award
- National Teachers Award 2026
- Recipient
- Mohd Mustafa Kamal
- Location
- Kargil district, Ladakh
- School identification
- The reports identify his school as Government Model Middle School Grong Pashkum and also as Government Middle School Zgangjing, Sankoo, Kanoor.
- Signature initiatives
- Cave Classroom, Museum Classroom and Classroom Parliament
- Digital tools
- School Bhuvan, Google Earth, Stellarium, Kahoot and Quizizz
- Teacher training
- More than 1,000 teachers trained in context-based education
Quotes
Ministry of Education
The Indian Education Ministry, describing Kamal’s educational contributions in a social media post.
“Shri Mohd Mustafa Kamal of Government Middle School Zgangjing, Sankoo, Kargil, Ladakh, has made significant contributions to experiential, contextual, and technology-enabled Social Science education in remote and resource-constrained classrooms.”
NDTV
“They explore cave shelters that were dug during the 1999 Kargil War by the people of Pashkum village in Kargil district to take shelter from the firing and also the ruins of forts built by local chieftains during the medieval period in Ladakh.”
NDTV
Sources
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