UAE teacher shortlisted for a $1 million global teacher prize 2020

Dubai: Special needs teacher Mohamed Mohtady Mohamed from Anas Bin Al Nadr School for Basic and Secondary Education, Fujairah, UAE, has been included in the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2020 in partnership with UNESCO.

Mohamed was selected from over 12,000 nominations and applications from over 140 countries around the world, shortlisting him for the Global Teacher Prize 2020.

Now in its sixth year, the $1 million award is the largest prize of its kind.

Mohamed teaches boys from Grade 6 to 12 at a school in a remote area of Fujairah, UAE, where there are many obstacles to effective learning – including language barriers, a higher than average rate of disabilities, and undiagnosed health problems.

Being a compassionate educator, Mohamed treats each student as unique and responds to their individual learning style. He also renders therapeutic teaching to students with anxiety.

With students visually impaired, Mohamed pursues a mixture of individual learning, sound recording, and converting visual lessons to audiobooks using iPads and tablets.

A core part of Mohamed’s teaching practice is sharing knowledge among the teaching profession. He is a member of the UAE teacher training team for ordinary and special education – helping achieve the government’s vision of improving education by applying modern learning strategies – and has contributed to creative sessions at the UAE Ministry of Health and Education to generate innovative ideas.

Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation, said: “We’d like to thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, for creating such a powerful platform to celebrate the world’s teachers. Nurtured in Dubai over the last six years, the global teacher prize ceremony has become a great gift to the world, which will now move to new host cities, spreading its message into every corner of the globe.

“Now, more than ever, we must celebrate the world’s teachers. As we start this new decade, the world is facing some of its greatest challenges – from climate change and conflict to growing inequality and global pandemics. Only by teachers sparking the light of curiosity as well as passing on knowledge and wisdom will we shape a better future for everyone.”

Social recognition

Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director General for Education at UNESCO, said: “Every child in the world deserves an inspiring teacher and inspiring teachers deserve wide social recognition. As we enter what must be a “decade of action” on education we have partnered with the Global Teacher Prize because it is such a powerful advocate for the critical role teachers play in our societies. Now, more than ever, in a world of competing priorities, governments throughout the world must invest in teachers to meet their commitments to deliver universal quality education by 2030.”

“We’re proud to partner with UNESCO as we all must now work together to do whatever it takes to give every child their birthright: a great education. Our generation will not be forgiven if we continue to deny the lifeblood of education to those in the next.

“Congratulations to Mohamed Mohtady Mohamed for reaching the final 50. I hope his story inspires those looking to enter the teaching profession and highlights the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day.

“Our recent Global Teacher Status Index finally gives academic proof to something that we’ve always instinctively known: the link between the status of teachers in society and the performance of children in school. Now we can say beyond doubt that respecting teachers isn’t only an important moral duty – it’s essential for a country’s educational outcomes.”