The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize is a $1 million award for an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. The winning candidate will be a teacher who has achieved exceptional results in student learning, and won the respect of the community through activities beyond the classroom.
He/she will have provided a role model to other teachers through charity, community work or other cultural achievements. The winner will also have encouraged other teachers to join the profession and contributed to discussions and debates about how to raise teaching standards.
He/she will also have opened up access to a quality education for children of all backgrounds, and prepared young people to be ‘global citizens’, comfortable with peers from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
Global Teacher Prize
| Name of the Award | Global Teacher Award 2021 |
|---|---|
| Title | Global Teacher Prize 2021 |
| Subject | Varkey Foundation released Global Teacher Prize 2021 notification |
| Category | Award |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | Varkey Foundation |
| Reward | Prize money of $1 million |
| First awarded | 2015; 6 years ago |
| website | www.globalteacherprize.org |
2021 News, The UK based Varkey Foundation annually presents the prestigious Global Teacher Prize in the field of teaching. By the year 2021, 8,000 teachers from 121 countries around the world have been applied. The Varkey Foundation has announced the list of the final 50 winners after being filtered at various levels. Out of these, the top 10 will be selected in October and the winner will be announced. The winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 7.37 crore (US $ 1 million).
The award – the equivalent of a ‘Nobel Prize’ – will operate under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. It will underline the importance of the teaching profession and symbolise the fact that teachers throughout the world deserve to be recognised and celebrated.
Eligibility for Global Teacher Prize
The Prize is open to currently working teachers who teach children that are in compulsory schooling, or are between the ages of five and eighteen. Teachers who teach children age 4+ in an Early Years government-recognised curriculum are also eligible, as are teachers who teach on a part-time basis, and teachers of online courses.
Teachers must spend at least 10 hours per week teaching children face-to-face, and plan to remain in the teaching profession for the next 5 years. The Prize is open to teachers in every kind of school and, subject to local laws, in every country in the world.
Selection Criteria for Global Teacher Prize
Applicants for the Global Teacher Prize will be judged on a rigorous set of criteria to identify an extraordinary teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession. The Academy will look for evidence of a combination of:
- Employing effective instructional practices that are replicable and scalable to influence the quality of education globally.
- Employing innovative instructional practices that address the particular challenges of the school, community or country and which have shown sufficient evidence to suggest they could be effective in addressing such challenges in a new way.
- Achieving demonstrable student learning outcomes in the classroom.
- Impact in the community beyond the classroom that provide unique and distinguished models of excellence for the teaching profession and others.
- Helping children become global citizens through providing them with a values-based education that equips them for a world where they will potentially live, work and socialise with people from many different nationalities, cultures and religions.
- Improving the teaching profession through helping to raise the bar of teaching, sharing best practice, and helping colleagues overcome any challenges they face in their school.
- Teacher recognition from governments, national teaching organisations, head-teachers, colleagues, members of the wider community or pupils.
The winner will be chosen by the prominent Global Teacher Prize Academy made up of head-teachers, educational experts, commentators, journalists, public officials, tech entrepreneurs, company directors and scientists from around the world.
Who can apply for the GT Prize?
The Prize is open to currently working teachers who teach children that are in compulsory schooling, or are between the ages of five and eighteen. Teachers who teach children age 4+ in an Early Years government-recognised curriculum are also eligible, as are teachers who teach on a part-time basis, and teachers of online courses. Teachers must spend at least 10 hours per week teaching children face-to-face, and plan to remain in the teaching profession for the next 5 years. The Prize is open to teachers in every kind of school and, subject to local laws, in every country in the world.
List of awarded Global Teacher Prize
| Year | Country | Name | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Maine, United States | Nancie Atwell | English teacher and teacher trainer |
| 2016 | Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine | Hanan Al Hroub | Palestinian teacher |
| 2017 | Salluit, Quebec, Canada | Maggie MacDonnell | Inuit teacher |
| 2018 | Brent, northwest London, England | Andria Zafirakou | Arts and Textiles teacher |
| 2019 | Nakuru, Kenya | Peter Tabichi | Science teacher |
| 2020 | Maharashtra, India | Ranjitsinh Disale | Indian teacher |
FAQs on GTP
When is the Global Teacher Prize announced?
The winner of the 2020 Global Teacher Prize will be announced in November 2021
Can I apply in my native language for GTP?
Currently the languages we accept applications in are English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese
How would I know if I’ve qualified in the Top 50 in GTP?
If you have shortlisted into the Top 50 finalists, you will receive an email from us notifying you. However, if you do not receive an email, it unfortunately means you have not made through to the Top 50 finalists.