Celebrations as Kenyan teacher wins world's best title

Students from a remote village in Kenya celebrate the victory of their mathematics and science teacher who won the $1 million World Teacher’s Award for the year 2019.

Peter Tabichi, 36, teaches at Keriko Mixed Secondary School in Pwani village, in a remote part of Kenya’s Rift Valley, where drought and famine are common.

“ Victory will bring benefits to Keriko and the community, as well as to society as a whole. I didn’t expect him to win, but I had hope because he is a very good teacher for us, he is a teacher who helped us at the science and engineering fair and so he is a good teacher and deserves it ‘’, said Faith, a high school student from Keriko.

I didn't expect him to win, but I had hope because he is a very good teacher for us.

John Njoroge is Deputy Principal of Keriko Secondary School.

“ After representing the school for the third time at the national level, on the Kenyan side, at the engineering fair, using the meager resources at our disposal, it is clear that any teacher in Africa, in the world, can work and achieve greatness even without many resources ‘’, Njoroge said.

Peter Tabichi, who, organizers say gives 80% of his monthly income to the poor, received the award at a ceremony organized in Dubai on Sunday. The Varkey Foundation praised Tabichi’s “ dedication, hard work and unshakable faith for the talent of his students “.

About 95 percent of the school’s students come from poor families, nearly a third are orphans or have only one parent, and many have no food at home.

AFP