Top 50 Shortlist Announced For $1 Million Gems Education Global Teacher Prize

The top 50 shortlist for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize has been announced today. They were selected from over 5,000 nominations and applications from 139 countries around the world. 

Now in its 10th year, the $1 million Global Teacher Prize is the largest prize of its kind. It was set up to recognise 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 who have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the exceptional work of teachers all over the world. Since its launch, the Global Teacher Prize has received over 100,000 applications and nominations from around the globe. 

The top 50 shortlisted for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize are:

Africa

Adeola Olufunke Akinsulure (Nigeria); Charnelle Arende (South Africa); Jeremie Habumugisha (Rwanda); Jusinta Kwakyewaa (Ghana); Komlan Abalo Braly (Togo); Misheck Mutuzana (Zambia); Mwanaidy Ally Mwacha (Tanzania); Nkosana Butholenkosi Masuku (Zimbabwe); Shallom Maweu Sila (Kenya); Tijjani Mohammed Mukaddas (Nigeria)

Asia

Aysel Şener (Turkey); Hala Abdelmoemn Mohamed Kotb Shahin (UAE); Hiroki Shinohara (Japan); Hossam Asal (Qatar); Maha Abumonshar (Palestine); Md Zahidul Islam (Bangladesh); Mehraj Khourshid Malik (India); Rouble Nagi (India); Saeed Salem Abdullah Al-Zahrani (Saudi Arabia); Salah El Sadi (Palestine); Sudhanshu Shekhar Panda (India); Tatyana Belousova (Kazakhstan); Velerie Wheelervon Primus (Malaysia)

Australasia

Colleen O'Rourke (Australia); Jade Bassett (Australia); Morgan Jayne McKeen (New Zealand)

Europe

Alfonso Filippone (Italy); Ana Hernández Revuelta (Spain); Cristian Ruiz Reinales (Spain); Ewa Stefania Drobek (Poland); John McGoldrick (UK); Maja Džafić (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Mouniati Moana-Chakour (France); Oleksandr Dumyshynets (Ukraine); Panagiota Diamanti (Greece)

Latin America

César Guillermo Fetzer Paz (Guatemala); Galileu da Silva Pires (Brazil); Gloria Argentina Cisneros (Argentina); Jairo Rafael Castro Acosta (Colombia); Joshue Castellanos Paternina (Colombia); Mónica Milagros Lanchipa Bergamini (Peru); Nelsy Saray Valenzuela Flores (Mexico); Pablo Ariel Mollo Graña (Uruguay); Patricio Andrés Vilches Guerrero (Chile); Miguel Alejandro Rodriguez (Argentina)

North America

Esmeralda Mora (US); Jasmyn Nicole Wright (US); Kristin Jean Grender (US); Stephanie Anne King (US); Timothy James Stiven (US)

Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Global Teacher Prize, GEMS Education, and The Varkey Foundation, said:   “Congratulations to all the finalists. The Global Teacher Prize was created with a simple mission: to shine a light on teachers whose dedication, creativity, and compassion deserve to be celebrated and shared with the world. Teachers shape minds, spark confidence, and open the doors through which young people create brighter futures for themselves and others. Your work extends far beyond the classroom – it touches lives and shapes the world.” 

Stefania Giannini, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, said: 

“Congratulations to this year’s top 50 finalists. UNESCO is honoured to stand alongside the Global Teacher Prize in celebrating the extraordinary commitment of teachers everywhere. Our world is navigating profound challenges – from teacher shortages and rapid technological shifts to the urgent demands of climate action. If we are to build a just, inclusive and sustainable future, we must recognise a simple truth: we cannot rise to this moment unless we invest in teachers.”

GEMS Education is one of the world’s leading private K-12 education providers, educating more than 200,000 students from 176+ nationalities across its global network of owned and managed schools. With nearly half a million alumni, GEMS has built a legacy of impact that spans generations and continents. Established in Dubai in 1959, GEMS remains a family-founded and family-led organisation, guided by its visionary founder and chairman Sunny Varkey, and his sons Dino Varkey (Group CEO) and Jay Varkey (Deputy Group CEO). The prize is open to working teachers who teach children who are in compulsory schooling or are between the ages of five and 18. Teachers who educate children aged 4+ in an Early Years government-recognised curriculum are also eligible, as are teachers working on a part-time basis, and teachers of online courses. Teachers must spend at least 10 hours per week teaching and plan to remain in the profession for the next five years.  It is open to teachers in every kind of school and, subject to local laws, in every country in the world. The Global Teacher Prize, Global Schools Prize and Global Student Prize, which Sunny Varkey also founded, complete a powerful trilogy that celebrates educators, learners, and schools as institutions of innovation and change. Together, the three prizes will spark a 360-degree conversation about what it takes to deliver the best possible education, equipping children to face the future with confidence – while rethinking the future of learning for generations to come. Teachers applying for the Global Teacher Prize are assessed on teaching practices, how they innovate to address local challenges, achieve demonstrable learning outcomes, impact the community beyond the classroom, help children become global citizens, improve the teaching profession, and gain recognition from external bodies.  

The prize will now be narrowed down to top 10 finalists, helping to raise the bar of respect for the teaching profession. The winner will be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy, made up of prominent individuals, and will be announced at the World Governments Summit, taking place in Dubai from 3-5 February 2026.