Special needs teacher Mohamed Mohtady Mohamed from Anas Bin Al Nadr School for Basic and Secondary Education, Fujairah, UAE, has been included in the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2020 in partnership with UNESCO. Now in its sixth year, the US$1 million award is the largest prize of its kind.
Mohamed Mohtady Mohamed, shortlisted for the Global Teacher Prize 2020, was selected from over 12,000 nominations and applications from over 140 countries around the world.
It was also announced that the Global Teacher Prize ceremony will now move to news host cities, spreading its message into every corner of the globe. This year’s winner will be announced live on stage at a red carpet ceremony taking place at the Natural History Museum in London on the evening of Monday 12th October 2020.
Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation, said:
“We’d like to thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, for creating such a powerful platform to celebrate the world’s teachers. Nurtured in Dubai over the last six years, the global teacher prize ceremony has become a great gift to the world, which will now move to new host cities, spreading its message into every corner of the globe.
”Now, more than ever, we must celebrate the world’s teachers. As we start this new decade, the world is facing some of its greatest challenges – from climate change and conflict to growing inequality and global pandemics. Only by teachers sparking the light of curiosity as well as passing on knowledge and wisdom will we shape a better future for everyone.”
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.
With ten years to go to meet UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 – providing a quality education for every child – the Global Teacher Prize has partnered with UNESCO to ensure teachers are right at the top of governments’ agendas.
Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director General for Education at UNESCO, said:
“Every child in the world deserves an inspiring teacher and inspiring teachers deserve wide social recognition. As we enter what must be a “decade of action” on education we have partnered with the Global Teacher Prize because it is such a powerful advocate for the critical role teachers play in our societies. Now, more than ever, in a world of competing priorities, governments throughout the world must invest in teachers to meet their commitments to deliver universal quality education by 2030.”
Mohamed Mohtady Mohamed teaches boys from sixth to twelfth grade at a school in a remote area of Fujairah, UAE, where there are many obstacles to effective learning – including language barriers, a higher than average rate of disabilities, and undiagnosed health problems. To tackle these obstacles, Mohamed treats each student as unique and responds to their individual learning style. Therapeutic teaching is given to students with anxiety, and established strategies are used with students who have an attention deficit or lack of focus. With students that are visually impaired, Mohamed pursues a mixture of individual learning, sound recording, and converting visual lessons to audiobooks using iPads and tablets.
A core part of Mohamed’s teaching practice is sharing knowledge among the teaching profession. He is a member of the UAE teacher training team for ordinary and special education – helping achieve the government’s vision of improving education by applying modern learning strategies – and has contributed to creative sessions at the UAE Ministry of Health and Education to generate innovative ideas. Mohamed has organised student participation at events like the Khorfakkan International Championship for the Disabled, as well as programmes for the cleaning and protection of beaches and nature reserves. A number of his students have also won prizes at national mathematics and school Olympics competitions, and as a result of Mohamed’s contribution to education and the children he has helped, he has been recognized with many awards and is honoured to chair the Special Education Committee of the Teachers’ Council at the UAE Ministry of Education.
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.
Sunny Varkey added:
“We’re proud to partner with UNESCO as we all must now work together to do whatever it takes to give every child their birthright: a great education. Our generation will not be forgiven if we continue to deny the lifeblood of education to those in the next.
“Congratulations to Mohamed Mohtady Mohamed for reaching the final 50. I hope his story inspires those looking to enter the teaching profession and highlights the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day.
“Our recent Global Teacher Status Index finally gives academic proof to something that we’ve always instinctively known: the link between the status of teachers in society and the performance of children in school. Now we can say beyond doubt that respecting teachers isn’t only an important moral duty – it’s essential for a country’s educational outcomes.”
The top 50 shortlisted teachers are narrowed down to ten finalist teachers by a Prize Committee, with that result announced in June 2020. The winner will then be chosen from these ten finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy. All ten finalists will be invited to London for the Award ceremony at the Natural History Museum on Monday 12 October 2020, where the winner will be announced live on stage.
Further information about the top 50 shortlist will be available from Thursday 19 March here: http://www.globalteacherprize.org.
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