Final call for GCC teachers to enter $1mn Global Teacher Prize
A final call for GCC teachers to enter the $1mn Varkey Gems Foundation Global Teacher Prize was issued earlier this week.
The final closing date for nominations and applications is October 5, with the winner to be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai in March.
The award will be given to an “exceptional teacher” who has made an “outstanding contribution” to the profession.
This will be the inaugural award of the prize, which was officially launched in October 2013 under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey, who sits on the Global Teacher Prize Academy that chooses the final winner, said: “However much we achieve in life, we all began learning the basics from a teacher in a classroom.
Those who teach - devoting their talents and time to nurturing the talents of others - deserve to be respected and celebrated.”
Tariq al-Gurg, CEO of philanthropic organisation Dubai Cares and member of the judging panel, said: “With this year’s inaugural prize, I would be delighted to see a significant number of entries from the Middle East region. I, therefore, urge teachers, parents, students and members of the public to nominate those teachers across the region who are role models in their schools."
Former US president and Varkey Gems Foundation honorary chairman Bill Clinton said: “Attracting the best people to teaching, developing and supporting their skills, and holding our teachers in high regard - all are critically important to achieve excellence, both in teaching and learning.”
The prize is open to teachers worldwide who are currently working in compulsory schooling or teach children between the ages of five and 18 years. Head teachers and principals with teaching responsibilities are also eligible to apply.
The prize is open to teachers in every kind of school and, subject to local laws, in every country of the world.
Members of the public can nominate a teacher or teachers can apply themselves by filling up an application form at globalteacherprize.org
If teachers are being nominated, the person nominating them has to write a brief description online explaining why.
The teacher being nominated will then be sent an e-mail, informing them that they have been nominated and inviting them to apply for the prize.
Applicants can apply in Arabic, English, Mandarin, French, Spanish and Russian over *here*
Initial applications will be judged by a prize committee, who will meet this November to choose a shortlist of 10 candidates. A winner will be chosen from the 10 finalists in December by the Global Teacher Prize Academy.
Teachers who are applying will have to provide references from their current superviser and up to two additional references. These can include video testimonials about their work in the classroom and beyond, and can come from pupils, colleagues, head teachers as well as members of the wider community.
The winner will be paid the prize money in equal instalments over 10 years and the Varkey Gems Foundation will provide the winner with financial counselling.
Without compromising their work in the classroom, the winner will be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey Gems 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.
Join the conversation online on Twitter (#TeacherPrize) and Facebook.
