By Rhoda Mutuku
A Kenyan Muslim teacher Abdikadir Ismail from remote Samburu county has defied odds to scale up to the top 50 shortlist for the coveted US dollars 1 million Varkey foundation global teacher prize 2018.
The kiswahili and history teacher at Mwangaza Muslim mixed day school, Maralal, made it to the top list for the global teacher prize 2018 having emerged a cut above tens of thousands of other teachers in a cutthroat competition of more than 30,000 nominations and applications from 173 countries around the world.
“Honestly to say that I am excited will be an understatement. When my colleague from Microsoft asked me to apply for this, I just texted him back to thank him for thinking highly of me, but I laughed at it. I just didn’t know…I am extremely elated to have made it among the Top 50, “Ismail said “This recognition is going to be a real game changer. This will be a real motivation to members of my community and country. I am just too excited to write, I feel like standing on top of the roof or the nearest tree and call out…. Hey there, the educators’ world appreciates all our efforts.”
The top 50 shortlist has representatives from 33 countries
Now in its fourth year, the global teacher prize, arguably the largest prize of its kind was set up to recognize 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.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation and the Global Teacher Prize, said: “Congratulations to Abdikadir Ismail for reaching the final 50. I hope his story inspires those looking to enter the teaching profession and shines a spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day. 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.”
Ismail’s gestures, according varkey, have exhibited hallmarks of a typical teacher with an unswerving passion for the teaching profession.
All manners of challenges enshrouding poverty plagued Samburu county notwithstanding, after his university education, Ismail returned to teach in Baragoi, which is in the books of history over high murder rates coupled with endless cattle rustling.
The area has been experiencing a mass exodus of teachers and many of the remaining teachers are trainees.
Ismail has however braved the situation and stayed put, partnering with a variety of organizations to implement projects to help children and the community, including organizing scholarships to keep students in school.
In his career, he has also demonstrated passion for technology in teaching and learning. As an administrator of a thoroughly under resourced school, Ismail says he saw an opportunity to make a difference by using technology. With no science lab at his school he sent teachers to schools with those facilities who filmed their practical experiments and these were played back via laptop in his school, embedded into PowerPoint presentations.
He is a firm believer in acting local but thinking global. One way he puts this into practice is by using Skype in the classroom. He has been able to help his chemistry teacher colleagues and their students interact with students from a school in Malaysia as they collaborated on a joint project on collection of oxygen and carbon (IV) oxide.
The top 50 shortlisted teachers are narrowed down to ten finalist teachers by a Prize Committee, with that result announced in February 2018. The winner will then be chosen from these ten finalists by the 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 18 March next year, where the winner will be announced live on stage.
