Yahoo Finance A Kenyan teacher who gives away most of his salary has won a $1.4m teaching prize
The hard work of Kenyan science teacher and Franciscan monk Peter Tabichi has seen him crowned winner of the Global Teacher Prize – along with a sweet US$1 million (A$1.41 million).
Tabichi, who gives away 80 per cent of his monthly income to support the poor, teaches at a high school in Pwani Village, a remote, semi-arid part of Kenya’s Rift Valley, where the school facilities include just one computer, poor internet access, and class sizes of 58 students.
Tabichi, who had never caught a plane before, was awarded the prize at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai in a ceremony hosted by Australian actor Hugh Jackman.
“I feel great. I can’t believe it. I feel so happy to be among the best teachers in the world, being the best in the world,” he told AP.
According to the Varkey Foundation, which presents the Global Teacher Prize, nearly a third of the students are orphans and many go without food at home.
It’s not uncommon experience for students to drop out early, abuse drugs, get pregnant, marry young, or suicide.
“The school is in a very remote area — most of the students come from very poor families, even affording breakfast is hard,” he said.
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Undeterred, Tabichi expanded the Science club, design research projects, mentor students through the Kenya Science Engineering Fair 2018, and took the school to first place in the public school ranking.
Though the school only has one computer and intermittent internet access, Tabichi incorporates computing technology in most of his lessons, making visits to internet cafes and caching online content to use later in class.
It’s seen enrolment double to over 400 in three year and indiscipline cases fall by 90 per cent.
“At times, whenever I reflect on the challenges they face, I shed tears,” he told AP about his students.
“I’m immensely proud of my students,” he said, whom he said worked hard despite the challenges they faced.
“We lack facilities that many schools take for granted, so as a teacher I just want to have a positive impact, not only in my country but on the whole of Africa.”
Tabichi, who is a member of the Roman Catholic brotherhood, wore a plain floor-length brown robe to receive the award and aims to use the money to improve the school and feed the poor, according to AP.
Tabichi invited his father, who was in the audience, to the stage and handed the award for him to hold, to the applause and cheers of the room.
In his acceptance speech, the Kenyan teacher explained that his father had been left with the task of raising him and his siblings after his mother died when he was 11, according to AP.
The prize is in its fifth year, with the winner selected by committees made up of teachers, journalists, entrepreneurs, business leaders and scientists.
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