Sister Zeph from Pakistan wins the 2023 Global Teacher Prize

Sister Zeph has been named winner of the 2023 Global Teacher Prize at an awards ceremony at UNESCO’s General Conference in Paris.

The teacher from Pakistan is the eighth educator to take home the US $1 million prize, joining previous winners: Keisha Thorpe from the United States, Ranjitsinh Disale from India, Peter Tabichi from Kenya, Andria Zafirakou from the United Kingdom, Maggie MacDonnell from Canada, Hanan Al Hroub from Palestine, and Nancy Atwell, from the United States.

The prize is open to current teachers spending at least 10 hours per week teaching children aged between 5 and 18 years old, and this year Sister Zeph was selected from over 7,000 nominations from 130 countries. India was also represented for this year’s prize, with Hari Krishna Patacharu from the Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh being named in the top 50, and Deep Narayan Nayak from West Bengal making it all the way to the top 10.

Sister Zeph began her career in education when she was just 13 years old. After being mistreated by teachers at school herself, the teenager decided to open her own school in the courtyard of her home. She has now been teaching for 26 years and is a passionate advocate for girls’ education.