Three teachers from East Africa have been shortlisted for a new $1 million Global Teacher Prize. The three teachers from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are among the six from Africa who made it to the top 50 contestants for the prize.

A total of 5,000 teachers were nominated from 127 countries to compete for the prize, whose aim is to improve the status of teachers and celebrate the important role teachers play in society.

The three East Africans are Jacque Kahura of Bofa Primary School, Kilifi, Kenya, Ronald Ddungu of Gayaza High School, Kampala, Uganda and Malima Chisumo, Nsumba Secondary School, Mwanza; Tanzania. The other three African states whose candidates have been shortlisted are Malawi, Madagascar and Morocco.

The winner will be chosen from these 10 finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy and invited to Dubai for the award ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum in March next year.

Widely referred to as the “Nobel Prize for Teaching,” it is the largest prize of its kind and is open to teachers globally.
Applicants are judged on how they open up their pupil’s minds, how they contribute to the community, and how they encourage others to become teachers. 

The sponsor,  the Varkey Gems Foundation said the top 50 shortlisted teachers have been judged by a prize committee with the final 10 candidates set to be announced in February 2015.

Last November, the VGF published the Global Teacher Status Index, the first attempt to compare attitudes towards teachers in 21 countries.  The index found that there were significant differences between the status of teachers worldwide.

The survey also found that in many countries, between a third and half of parents would probably or definitely discourage their children from entering the teaching profession.

As a direct response to this, the Global Teacher Prize was set up to shine a spotlight on the profession to recognise and celebrate the important role that teachers play in society.