Abhiramapuram family institutes ‘Kindest Teacher in Chennai’

A grateful son is remembering his teacher-mum in a  unique way, a month after she passed away.
Judith Pinto, affectionately called ‘Judy Miss’ by generations of students at Don Bosco School, Egmore, was a kindergarten teacher for 31 years. Loved by her students and adored by her colleagues for her kind and gentle nature, her family based in Abhiramapuram has announced an annual award from 2018 onwards for the ‘Kindest Teacher in Chennai’.

At her ‘month’s mind’ memorial service at Don Bosco Primary School on Wednesday, attended by Don Bosco alumni, teachers and senior government officials, her son Sanjay Pinto, lawyer and former tv journalist, recalled his mother’s motto of treating every child in her class like her own son.

Says Sanjay, “We usually have awards for teachers based on academic results or projects that they supervised. But one exclusively for kindness is perhaps a first of its kind.”

The award will carry a cash prize and a citation, based on entries from students and parents of all schools in Chennai, whether private, government, aided, unaided, matriculation, ICSE & CBSE. The winner will be chosen by a jury nominated by the Pinto family and presented at her first death anniversary on August 27, 2018.