Indian teacher Rouble Nagi wins $1 million Global Teacher Prize
Indian teacher and activist Rouble Nagi won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize in Dubai for her work in setting up over 800 learning centres and creating educational murals for underprivileged children across India
Dubai: An Indian teacher and activist known for creating hundreds of learning centres and painting educational murals across the walls of slums won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize on Thursday.
Rouble Nagi accepted the award at the World Governments Summit in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, an annual event that draws leaders from across the globe.
Her Rouble Nagi Art Foundation has established more than 800 learning centres across India. These centres aim to help children who have never attended school begin structured learning. They also support children already enrolled in schools.
Nagi also paints murals that teach literacy, science, mathematics and history, among other subjects.
The prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder, Sunny Varkey, also established the for-profit GEMS Education company, which runs dozens of schools in Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.
Nagi plans to use the $1 million prize money to build an institute that offers free vocational training.
She is the 10th teacher to win the award, which the foundation began presenting in 2015.
Past winners of the Global Teacher Prize include a Kenyan teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to the poor, a Palestinian primary school teacher who teaches non-violence, and a Canadian educator who taught Inuit students in a remote Arctic village. Last year’s winner was Saudi educator Mansour al-Mansour, known for his work with the poor in the kingdom.
GEMS Education, or Global Education Management Systems, is one of the world’s largest private school operators and is believed to be worth billions. Its growth has mirrored that of Dubai, where private schools cater largely to the children of expatriates who power its economy.