KUALA LUMPUR: A Sabahan teacher has made the country proud by being the only Malaysian to have made it to the top 50 of the prestigious Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2017 award.
Mohd Sirhajwan Idek, 29, from Keningau Vocational College was shortlisted from over 20,000 nominations and applications from 179 countries to stand a chance to win US$1mil (RM4.4mil).
Global Teacher Prize, in its latest blog posting, said the award, now in its third year, 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 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," it wrote.
Sharing his joy with the New Straits Times, Sirhajwan said he felt quite confident with his application for the award.
"I poured my heart out and I explained in detail what, how and why I am doing certain things in my schools.
"I focused more on justifying my intention in helping my students and my colleagues and I explained how I aimed to improve the status of teachers with my numerous involvements in local and international programmes including being a delegate for Asia Pacific Week in Canberra Australia and again International Leadership Programme in UK, and a member of Malaysian American Alumni Partnership (MAAP).
"I also shared my practice worldwide through conference, research papers and downloadable materials."
Sirhajwan said that with the Global Teacher Prize funds, he would like to equip his local schools with technologically enhanced classrooms, smartboards and adequate computers, and fund travel for his students to peninsular Malaysia for competitions and conferences.
The Global Teacher Prize, in its blog wrote that Sirhajwan's students come from families of low socioeconomic status that have little exposure to the outside world, which means their English proficiency tends to be lower, and they lack self-confidence.
"Sirhajwan's patience, positivity and perseverance paid off, transforming his school into one that dominated English competitions and subsequently also innovation and entrepreneurship contests.
"A great deal of his students’ progress has come about through Sirhajwan encouraging them to use English in daily conversation and extra-curricular activities.
"He encourages them to debate and speak in various settings such as a Model United Nations and moot court."
It wrote Sirhajwan also contributes to his colleagues’ professional development with research, conference contributions, and courses on English language practice.
Besides that, it said he has consistently and creatively raised money to assist with travel in order to improve his students’ awareness of peninsular Malaysia.
Sirhajwan had also been recognised for his achievement and was invited to present his methods at a number of international conferences.
He was one of five global winners of the Teacher at My Heart contest (sponsored by Macmillan) in 2016, and was in the top three finalists of the international TESOL Teacher of the Year award.
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.
Varkey Foundation founder, Sunny Varkey said they were overwhelmed by the huge support the Global Teacher Prize received this year.
"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.
“The tens of thousands of nominations and applications we received from every corner of the planet is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives," he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, secretary-general of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon said: “I count my teachers as among the most influential people in my life. Teachers are entrusted with nurturing the potential of the young and helping them blossom as productive and responsible members of society. It is hard to underestimate their value.
“I applaud the launch of the Global Teacher Prize, which recognises their worth. The award is in line with my Global Education First Initiative, launched in 2012, which aims to give momentum to the worldwide movement to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning and foster global citizenship.”
The top 50 shortlisted teachers have now been judged by a Prize Committee with the final ten candidates to be announced in February 2017.
The winner will then be chosen from ten finalists by a 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 March 19, next year where the winner will be announced live.
For more information on the award and the top 50 finalists, visit http://www.globalteacherprize.org/top-50-shortlist-announced-us-1million....