A special needs teacher from the UAE has been shortlisted for the US$1 million (Dh3.67m) Global Teacher Award this year.
Mohamed Mohtady Mohamed from Anas Bin Al Nadr School for Basic and Secondary Education in Fujairah will compete with other 49 teachers shortlisted for the award.
The prize, in its sixth year, has attracted 12,000 nominations from 140 countries around the world.
The Global Teacher Prize, the largest of its kind, is awarded by the Varkey Foundation under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
It was set up to recognise the important role teachers play in the society and to facilitate one exceptional teacher for his/her outstanding contribution to the profession.
The nominated UAE teacher teaches boys from sixth to 12th grade at a school in a remote area of Fujairah, where obstacles like language barriers, a higher than average rate of disabilities, and undiagnosed health problems hinder effective learning.
“To tackle these obstacles, Mohamed treats each pupil as unique and responds to their individual learning style,” the Foundation said in a statement.
“With pupils that are visually impaired, Mohamed pursues a mixture of individual learning, sound recording, and converting visual lessons to audiobooks using iPads and tablets,” it said.
The top 50 shortlisted candidates come from 37 countries.
Mr Mohamed is a member of the UAE teacher training team for ordinary and special education that helps achieve the government’s vision of applying modern learning strategies in learning/
“Mohamed has organised pupil 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,” said the Foundation.
A number of his pupils have also won prizes at national mathematics and school Olympiads.
Mr Mohamed has been awarded for his work and is the chair of the Special Education Committee of the Teachers’ Council at the UAE Ministry of Education.
It was also announced that the Global Teacher Prize ceremony will now move to new host cities.
This year’s final ceremony will take place in London on October 12.
The Global Teacher Prize has partnered with Unesco to help teachers stay on governments’ agendas.
“Every child in the world deserves an inspiring teacher and inspiring teachers deserve wide social recognition,” said Stefania Giannini, assistant director general for Education at Unesco.
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 be chosen from ten finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy.
Last year, Peter Tabichi from Kenya, a Franciscan monk, won the award beating 10,000 teachers across the globe.
He won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize at a ceremony in Dubai.
