Now in its third year, the US $1 million award is the largest prize of its kind, and 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 50 have been shortlisted from over 20,000 nominations and applications from 179 countries from around the world. The top 50 shortlist has representatives from 37 countries and 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 19 March 2017.
The Top 50 teachers shortlisted (in alphabetical order by country) are:
- Silvana Corso, who teaches history at E.E.M. N° 1 D.E.14 Federico García Lorca in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
- Ken Silburn, a science teacher at Casula High School, south-west Sydney, Australia;
- Shahanaj Parvin, a teacher at Upazilla Sadar Model Government Primary School, Sherpur, Bogra, Bangladesh;
- Koen Timmers, a computer science teacher at CVO De Verdieping school in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium;
- Valter Pereira de Menezes, who teaches science at the Luiz Gonzaga Municipal school in Parintins, Brazil;
- Wemerson da Silva Nogueira, a science teacher, at Escola Antônio dos Santos Neves in Boa Esperança, Brazil;
- Yvan Girouard, a Science and Technology teacher at L’École Secondaire Les Etchemins school in Lévis, Quebec, Canada;
- Maggie MacDonnell, from Ikusik School in Salluit, Quebec, Canada;
- Armand Doucet, who teaches world issues, modern history and social studies, at Riverview High School in Riverview, New Brunswick, Canada;
- Eligio René Salamanca Navarrete, a primary teacher at Escuela Básica Quelhue, a rural multi-grade school located in the Manuel Huaiquivir Mapuche Reservation in Quelhue, Pucón, Chile;
- Mario Rodrigo Santibáñez Caro, who teaches biology and chemistry at the Liceo Instituto Tecnológico y Comercial Recoleta in Santiago, Chile;
- Ronnie Cheng, Headmaster of the Diocesan Boys’ School (DBS) in Kowloon, China;
- Yang Boya, a psychology teacher at The Affiliated Middle School of Kunming Teachers College, China;
- Alexander Rubio, who teaches physical education at Colegio Rodrigo Lara Bonilla in Bogota, Colombia;
- Gamal Alkady, an English teacher at the Safawa Zagazig Primary School for Girls, Egypt;
- Marie-Hélène Fasquel-Erhart, an American literature teacher at Lycée Nelson Mandela senior high school, Nantes, France;
- Marie-Christine Ghanbari Jahromi, a physical education, maths and German teacher at Gesamtschule Gescher school, in Gescher, Germany;
- Aggeliki Pappa, an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher, from Athens, Greece;
- Kavita Sanghvi, a physics teacher at MET Rishikul Vidyalaya school, Mumbai, India;
- Dayang Suriani, an English teacher at SMA Negeri 1 Balikpapan, East Borneo, Indonesia;
- Ferdos Hajian, a teacher at Ferdos School and the school of Afrakoty in Ghaemshahr, Iran;
- Armando Persico, who teaches entrepreneurship at the Ikaros Foundation Vocational School, Bergamo, Italy;
- Tracy-Ann Hall, an automotive technology teacher at Jonathan Grant High School in Spanish Town, Jamaica;
- Sahar Fayyad, a primary school teacher from Amman, Jordan;
- Michael Wamaya, a teacher in Nairobi, Kenya;
- Mohd Sirhajwan Idek, a teacher at Keningau Vocational College, Malaysia;
- Jasper Rijpma, a history and philosophy teacher at Hyperion Lyceum secondary school in Amsterdam, Netherlands;
- Ali Al Matari, a mathematics teacher at Al Mutanabi Primary School, Ash Sharqiyah North Governorate, Sultanate of Oman;
- Salima Begum, Headteacher at Elementary College for Women Gilgit, Pakistan;
- Abeer Qunaibi, a teacher at Wedad Naser Al Deen Secondary School, Ramallah, Palestine;
- Juan Raúl Cadillo León, a primary school teacher at the Jesus of Nazareth school in Huaraz, Peru;
- Francis Jim Tuscano, a teacher at Xavier School, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines;
- Mariusz Zyngier, a vocational education teacher, at Zespół Szkół, Polaniec, Poland;
- João Couvaneiro, a history teacher at Colégio dos Plátanos, Rinchoa, Portugal;
- Philip Tan, a music and arts teacher from Nanyang Fine Arts Academy and Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore;
- Phuti Ragophala, an economics and management sciences and technology teacher at Pula Madibogo Primary School in Polokwane, South Africa;
- David Calle, from Madrid, Spain, the founder and creator of the Unicoos educational website;
- Rohan Roberts, who teaches the GEMS honours progamme and astronomy at the Wellington Academy Silicon Oasis in Dubai, and also oversees the GEMS Futures Curriculum in three schools in Dubai;
- Shaikha Al Shehhi, an English teacher, from Al Dhait Girls Secondary School, Ras Al Khaimah.
- Hanna Dudich, an English as a Foreign Language school teacher at Taras Shevchenko Himnazia in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine;
- Adnan Mahmood, a business and enterprise tutor from Barking and Dagenham College, Ess3x, UK;
- Nathan Atkinson, headteacher at Richmond Hill Primary School, Leeds, UK;
- Peter Ferris, a drama teacher from Mercy College, Belfast, UK;
- Raymond Chambers, a computer science teacher from Brooke Weston Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire., UK;
- Alhassan Susso, from the International Community High School in the Bronx, New York, USA;
- Brian Copes, from Thompson High School in Alabaster, Alabama, USA;
- Corey Mitchell from Northwest School of the Arts, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA;
- Erin Gruwell from Long Beach, a teacher at the Freedom Writers Foundation and Bay Path University, USA;
- Estella Owoimaha-Church from Hawthorne High School, Los Angeles, USA;
- Ron Alvarez, a music teacher from Caracas, Venezuela.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said:
“We were overwhelmed by the huge support the Global Teacher Prize received this year. We intend to keep this momentum going as our journey continues to return teachers to their rightful position as one of the most respected professions in society.
“The tens of 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.”
The top 50 shortlisted teachers have now been judged by a Prize Committee with the final ten candidates to be announced in February 2017. 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) on Sunday 19 March next year where the winner will be announced live.
Further information about the top 50 shortlist will be available from Wednesday 14 December here: https://www.globalteacherprize.org. To join the conversation online follow #TeachersMatter on: https://twitter.com/TeacherPrize and https://www.facebook.com/teacherprize.