- Rouble Nagi won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize at the Dubai World Governments Summit
- She founded over 800 learning centers to educate out-of-school and school-going children in India
- Nagi’s centers offer structured and supplementary education plus educational murals on key subjects
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - An Indian teacher, Rouble Nagi, won $1 million Global Teacher Prize for creating hundreds of learning centres during the annual World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Nagi is the tenth teacher to receive this award, which the foundation launched in 2015. Previous recipients include a teacher from a remote village in Kenya who donated most of his earnings to the poor, a Palestinian primary school teacher who teaches children about non-violence, and a Canadian teacher who taught in a remote Inuit village in the Arctic.
Through the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, she has established over 800 learning centers across India. These centres aim to provide structured education to children who have never been to school. They also provide supplementary education to children already attending school. In addition, Nagi creates educational murals based on subjects like literacy, science, mathematics and history.
Upon receiving the award,Rouble said that the prize was a matter of pride for her and for all of India. She shared that she started her work 24 years ago in a small workshop with just 30 children and today her efforts have reached over a million children. She also mentioned that her childhood dream was for every child to go to school and realizing that dream as an adult, by reaching as many children as possible, has been a deeply humbling experience for her.
In a statement released on the Global Teacher Prize website, Sunny Varkey said that Rouble Nagi is an outstanding example of teaching excellence, demonstrating courage, creative thinking, compassion and an unwavering belief in the potential of every child.
He added that by bringing education to the most disadvantaged communities, she has not only transformed lives but also strengthened families and society. Nagi plans to use the one million dollar prize money to establish an institution that will provide free vocational training.
