PRESS RELEASE
STRICLTY EMBARGOED TO 00:01 EST (05:01 LOND0N)
WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016
TOP TEN FINALISTS FOR THE US$1 MILLION GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE 2016
ANNOUNCED TODAY
The top ten shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2016 has
been announced today
Now in its second year, and widely referred to as the Nobel Prize for teaching, the
US$1 million award is the largest prize of its kind.
The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognize one exceptional teacher who has
made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on
the important role teachers play in society. By unearthing thousands of stories of
heroes that have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the
exceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world.
The top ten finalists for the Global Teacher Prize 2016 are:
Aqeela Asifi, who teaches children at the Kot Chandana refugee camp, Punjab,
Pakistan
Ayub Mohamud, a business studies teacher at Eastleigh High School in Nairobi,
Kenya
Colin Hegarty, from Preston Manor School, a comprehensive in Wembley, North
West London, UK
Hanan Al Hroub, from Samiha Khalil High School, Al-Bireh, Palestine
Joe Fatheree from Effingham High School, Effingham, Illinois, USA
Kazuya Takahashi, a teacher at the Kogakuin University Junior and Senior High
School, Tokyo, Japan
Maarit Rossi, a maths teacher at Kartanonranta School, Finland
Michael Soskil from Wallenpaupack South Elementary School, Newfoundland,
Pennsylvania, USA
Richard Johnson, a science teacher at Rostrata Primary School, Perth, Western
Australia
Robin Chaurasiya, from Kranti School, Mumbai, India
The top ten have been narrowed down from 8,000 nominations and applications from
148 countries from around the world. By highlighting their stories the Varkey
Foundation hopes that the public will be able to join in passionate debates about the
importance of teachers. The winner will be announced at the Global Education and
Skills Forum in Dubai on Sunday 13 March 2016.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said:
“I want to congratulate all the top ten finalists for being selected from such a huge
number of talented and dedicated teachers. I hope their stories will inspire those
looking to enter the teaching profession and also shine a powerful spotlight on the
incredible work teachers do throughout the world every day.
“The thousands of nominations and applications we received from every corner of
the planet is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact
they have on all of our lives.”
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said:
“I count my teachers as among the most influential people in my life. Teachers are
entrusted with nurturing the potential of the young and helping them blossom as
productive and responsible members of society. It is hard to underestimate their
value.
“I applaud the launch of the Global Teacher Prize, which recognizes their worth. The
award is in line with my Global Education First Initiative, launched in 2012, which
aims to give momentum to the worldwide movement to put every child in school,
improve the quality of learning and foster global citizenship.”
Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said:
“We were so excited by the plans to launch the Global Teacher Prize. I also want to
recognise the leadership of Sunny Varkey, Founder of GEMS Education, who had
the idea for this prize and is a great partner for our Foundation.”
Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey, who sits on the Global Teacher
Prize Academy that chooses the final winner, said:
"When I was starting out, I was inspired by an older, more experienced actor, who
told me that he thought I ought to go into acting professionally. That's the kind of
mentoring and personal support that every young person needs to realise their
potential.
"It's the kind of encouragement and guidance that good teachers give to their pupils
every day. And that is why I support the Varkey GEMS Foundation's Global Teacher
Prize. However much we achieve in life, we all began learning the basics from a
teacher in a classroom. Those that teach - devoting their talents and time to
nurturing the talents of others - deserve to be respected and celebrated."
After winning the Global Teacher Prize 2015, Nancie Atwell, a teacher from Maine,
USA, said:
“I'm honored and proud to receive the Global Teacher Prize. I love my teaching life the intellectual, social, and personal challenges of working with young people and the
satisfaction of developing methods that transform their lives and give them
perspective on the lives of others. I am grateful to the Varkey Foundation for shining
a light on teaching as a powerful profession, one of fulfillment, creativity, and lasting
worth.”
The winner will then be chosen from ten finalists by a Global Teacher Prize
Academy. All ten finalists will be invited to Dubai for the Award ceremony at the
Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) in March this year where the winner will
be announced live.
Middlesbrough Teacher Richard Spencer, who became a top ten finalist for the
Global Teacher Prize 2015, said:
"The experience of reaching the Top Ten was incredible. Highlights included meeting
world leaders; TV, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews; meeting the other
finalists, and finding out more about their contributions to the teaching profession;
and receiving numerous requests to speak at conferences and run workshops.”
There are challenges with regard to teacher respect in the UK, according to the
Global Teacher Status Index, the world’s first comprehensive attempt to compare the
status of teachers around the world. The index finds that when asked which other
professions have a comparable status to teaching, Britons are most likely to compare
teachers to nurses and social workers. Just five per cent of respondents compared
the status of teachers to that of doctors. Only 21 per cent of people think that pupils
respect teachers, and only around a quarter of people would probably or definitely
encourage their child into teaching.
Further information about the top 10 shortlist will be available from Wednesday 17
February here: http://www.globalteacherprize.org. To join the conversation online
follow #TeachersMatter on: https://twitter.com/TeacherPrize
and https://www.facebook.com/teacherprize
Ends
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Varkey Foundation believes every child deserves a vibrant, stimulating learning
environment that awakens and supports their full potential. We believe nothing
is more important to achieving this than the passion and quality of teachers. We support
global teaching capacity and seed excellence and innovation in the next generation of
educators. We also founded the Global Teacher Prize to shine a spotlight on the
incredible work teachers do all over the world. https://www.varkeyfoundation.org
2. The top 50 shortlisted teachers was narrowed down to the final ten teachers by a Prize
Committee. The winner will be chosen from these ten finalists by the Global Teacher Prize
Academy. The Prize Committee and the Academy will look for evidence that applicants meet
the following criteria:
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Recognition of a teacher’s achievements in the classroom and beyond from pupils,
colleagues, head-teachers or members of the wider community.
Employing innovative and effective instructional practices
Achieving demonstrable student learning outcomes in the classroom.
Ensuring children receive a values-based education that prepares them to be global
citizens in a world where they will encounter people from many different religions,
cultures and nationalities.
Achievements in the community beyond the classroom that provide unique and
distinguished models of excellence for the teaching profession and others.
Encouraging others to join the teaching profession. Contributing to public debates on
the teaching profession, whether through writing articles, blogs, media participation,
social media campaigns, events or conferences.
3. The Prize Committee includes Vikas Pota, CEO of the Varkey Foundation; Sir Michael
Tomlinson, former UK Chief Inspector of Schools; Ann Mroz, Editor, Times Education
Supplement; David Edwards, Dep. General Secretary of Education International, Jacque
Kahura, top ten finalist from Kenya for Global Teacher Prize 2015, Jiang Xueqin, Deputy
Principal, Tsinghua International School China, Vandana Goyal, Chief Executive Officer of the
Akanksha Foundation and Nancie Atwell, winner of the Global Teacher Prize 2015.
4. The Global Teacher Prize Academy includes prominent names such as Academy Award
winning actor Kevin Spacey; Carina Wong, Deputy Director of the Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation; Wendy Kopp, co-founder and CEO of Teach for All; Brett Wigdortz, founder and
CEO of Teach First, Nick Booth, CEO, The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge and Prince Harry, Jeffrey D. Sachs, world-renowned professor of economics and
special advisor to the U.N and Lewis Pugh, the only person to have completed a long
distance swim in every ocean of the world.
5. The Global Teacher Prize winner will be paid the prize money in equal installments over
ten years, and the Varkey Foundation will provide the winner with financial counseling.
Without compromising their work in the classroom, the winner will be asked to serve as a
global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation, attending public events and speaking in public
forums about improving the prestige of the teaching profession. A condition of winning the
prize is that the winner remains as a classroom teacher for at least five years.
6. PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be responsible for ensuring that the balloting process is fair
and accurate. Criminal record and other background checks will be conducted on the
shortlisted candidates. Top ten finalists from Global Teacher Prize 2015 could not apply for
Global Teacher Prize 2016.
7. The Global Teacher Prize is part of the Varkey Foundation’s long-standing commitment to
improve the status of teachers. In November 2013, the foundation published the Global
Teacher Status Index, the first attempt to compare attitudes towards teachers in 21
countries. The index found that there were significant differences between the status of
teachers worldwide. The survey also found that in many countries, between a third and half of
parents would “probably” or “definitely not” encourage their children to enter the teaching
profession. The full Global Teacher Status Index can be found at:
https://www.varkeyfoundation.org/teacherindex