Maths teacher Mokhudu Cynthia Machaba from Ngwanamago Primary School, Polokwane, Limpopo, South Africa, has been included in the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2020 in partnership with UNESCO.
Now in its sixth year, the US$1 million award is the largest prize of its kind.
Mokhudu Cynthia Machaba, shortlisted for the Global Teacher Prize 2020, was selected from over 12,000 nominations and applications from over 140 countries around the world.
The Global Teacher Prize 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.
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.
With ten years to go to meet UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 – providing a quality education for every child – the Global Teacher Prize has partnered with UNESCO to ensure teachers are right at the top of governments’ agendas.
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.”
Mokhudu Cynthia Machaba grew up in poverty and struggled to get her own education, having to learn and train without much technological help, so she has determined to ensure that the opposite is true for her own students.
Starting with the use of a single cellphone for Internet access in class, she obtained laptops from the ISPA Super Teacher awards, Microsoft, and the South African government – all by showcasing her students’ activities.
She has now introduced her students to Coding Week, using Minecraft as an introduction, and students have also started talking with learners from other countries through the Microsoft Educator Platform and mystery Skypes.
In 2009, Mokhudu was the runner-up in the ISPA Super Teacher prize for ICT Integration in the classroom. In 2015 she was crowned Provincial winner of the National Teaching Award (Technology Enhanced Teaching category), and she has also been recognized as one of the 50 Inspiring Women in Tech for South Africa.
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 live on stage at a red carpet ceremony taking place at the Natural History Museum in London on the evening of Monday 12 October 2020.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation and the Global Teacher Prize, said: “The Global Teacher Prize will start this new decade with renewed purpose and energy, moving the prize ceremony around the world, spreading the message deeper into new host countries, and making the prize’s reputation live up to its name as a true global celebration of teachers. As the home of the Varkey Foundation and a great global city we’re proud to announce that London is the first of our new host cities.
“We’re also 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 Mokhudu Cynthia Machaba for reaching the final 50. I hope her 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.”
The top 50 shortlisted teachers are narrowed down to ten finalist teachers by a Prize Committee, with that result announced in June 2020.
The winner will then be chosen from these ten finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy. All ten finalists will be invited to London for the Award ceremony at the Natural History Museum on Monday 12 October 2020, where the winner will be announced live on stage.
The Varkey Foundation believes every child deserves a vibrant, stimulating learning environment that awakens and supports their full potential. We believe nothing is more important to achieving this than the passion and quality of teachers.
We founded the Global Teacher Prize to shine a spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world and we continue to play a leading role in influencing education debates on the status of teachers around the world. https://www.varkeyfoundation.org