6th January 2017
Adnan Mahmood, a business and enterprise tutor from Barking & Dagenham College, has been included in the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2017 at globalteacherprize.org. Now in its third year, the US$1 million award is the largest prize of its kind.
The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognise 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.
Adnan Mahmood volunteered to teach school pupils in vocational subjects at an early stage while he was in college. His teaching approach stresses the importance of developing skills needed for success in life and business, integrating these with the academic learning requirements of the curriculum. This has included helping students compete in national competitions such as the Edge Challenge, where they learn how to develop and pitch business ideas: one team went to a skills show and won £5,000 towards their idea.
Since starting his role in 2012 Adnan has seen his students’ results improve significantly. He has been awarded the VQ Teacher of the Year and the Pearson Silver award. Seeking to cultivate his students’ global awareness, he has also worked with the Pants to Poverty campaign to raise over £4,000 through students selling fair-trade pants – winning the national competition and traveling to India as winners. His teaching always seeks to incorporate global awareness and multicultural themes.
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.
Three other UK teachers have also been shortlisted for the Global Teacher Prize 2017:
• Nathan Atkinson, headteacher at Richmond Hill School, Leeds;
• Peter Ferris, a drama teacher from Mercy College, Belfast;
• Raymond Chambers, a computer science teacher from Brooke Weston Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire.
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: http://www.globalteacherprize.org. To join the conversation online follow #TeachersMatter on https://twitter.com/TeacherPrize and https://www.facebook.com/teacherprize.
