City dance teacher shortlisted among top 50 best teachers in the world
A Nairobi dance teacher has been shortlisted among the top 50 best teachers worldwide.
Michael Wamaya, a dance teacher at the Model Primary School for Girls in Nairobi, is among the nominees for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2017.
The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on March 19, 2017.
Mr Wamaya teaches ballet at the school. Fellow teachers commended him for having a positive effect on students through his ballet classes.
The dance teacher celebrated his nomination through his Twitter account posting;
Thank you @varkeyfdn for the honor of having me as part @TeacherPrize 2017.#TeachersMatter
— Wamaya (@mikewamaya) December 14, 2016
The dance classes are the brain child of Anno’s Africa, a UK-based charity that offers arts education to different schools in Nairobi slums.
Mr Wamaya dropped out of high school due to financial constraints, but a chance audition with the visiting Kenya Performing Arts Group enabled him to move to Nairobi and study dance.
Last year, two Kenyan teachers, Ayub Mohamud of Eastleigh High School and Michael Walter Kagwa of Mwangaza Primary School, in Dadaab refugee Camp, were nominated among the top 50 teachers.
Jacque Kahura of LIBA organization was the first Kenyan to be nominated for the annual prize during the inaugural Global Teacher Prize in 2014.
The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognize 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.
