Malawian up for $1m global teacher prize

January 20, 2015 Nyasa Times Reporter 37 Comments

Malawian teacher Andrew Nchessie of Kasungu Demonstration School and Kasungu Teachers Training College  has been included in the first ever GEMS Foundation Global Teacher Prize which could see him  walk away with $1 million if he come out on top.

Nchessie, is a finalist in the Global Teacher Prize, considered the Nobel Prize for Education.
Nchessie, is a finalist in the Global
Teacher Prize, considered the Nobel Prize for Education.

The other 49 nominees are dotted around 25 countries, with 16 of them coming from the USA.

Nchessie said he started his teaching career in a primary school in 1994 and since then he has made a significant contribution to curriculum development in Malawi, along with training the nation’s primary school teachers on using new curricula.

Among others, he has also contributed material to 150 science educational television programmes that have been broadcast to over 10 million viewers.

A panel of judges whittles the 50 nominees down to 10, and the winner of the Global Teacher Prize will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on March 16, 2015, according to globalteacherprize.org.

Sponsored by the Varkley GEMS Foundation, the “reward of a lifetime” is given to “one innovative and caring teacher who has made an inspirational impact on their students and their community. Teachers currently teaching children in a compulsory setting or between the ages 5-18 are eligible.”

Special commendations to outstanding teachers around the world will also be awarded.

Nchessie said the nomination is the recognition of the hard work among the teachers in the country.

Former US president Bill Clinton, who chairs the foundation, said improving standards in school depended on “attracting the best people to teaching, developing and supporting their skills, and holding our teachers in high regard”.

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37 replies on “Malawian up for $1m global teacher prize”

  1. All the best,we may need as many as possible motivated teachers like you,the problem is that we simply wait and watch for others or idleness

  3. All the best Andrew! You are a winner already! We are behind u in support of your candidature. Go go for it! Proud of you

  4. Quota system, regionalism, bla bla bla, its none of my business. I’m here to congratulate Mr Nchessie for representing Malawi as a nation not a region nor a tribe. All the best Nchessie

  5. i knew this guy since primary school ,he worked hard and i see he still works even harder. I’m not amazed he deserves it. Hard working pay you about to be paid bro. All the best Nchessie

  6. Bwana Alex,

    I am certain you got my point loud and clear. If we had enough spaces to accommodate at least 50,000 students to public and private universities each year, we would probably be in a position to produce 100 or 200 Nchesis each year. With just 3000 places in a country of 14 million people, what is evident is that Malawi’s problems go beyond Quota. It is insane to believe that with just 3000, you can still pick the undeserving for tertiary schooling. Everyone that goes is deserving but why can’t we send every deserving one to university every year? This is what we must be advocating for.

  9. Mr. Kanonono,
    Merit prevails. This guy if he was an average guy or a quota beneficiary, he would not have been on the top ten. Just imagine if these guys were to use quota system, then Swaziland would have been included. Boy we are in a global world and in order to compete globally, merit is the solution.

    I know you are a below average guy.

  10. Teaching is not just a job but a calling. You can have a degree but fail to deliver and motivate and give out the needed input to learners. Wishing you all the best, friend up there.

  13. Congratulations. This is what Malawi needs ossti zinazi. Kutchuka ndi zinthu zachabe basi. For such nice and sweet stories most Nyasamaniacs dont comment koma akango poster zijazi, within a short time, 100 comments. Whst a sick society!!!!!!

  14. Good luck with your nomination. Pray that you scoop it. It’d completely change your life for good. God bless you

  15. Has Malawi ever recognized a teacher? Whether Mr/Dr Nchessie gets a prize or not, there mere fact that he has been nominated is an achievement Malawi should not take lightly. Charity begins at home ; Please Malawi do something to not only recognize people like DR Nchessie , but respect this noble profession of Teachers, especially the ones who start us off in the early part of education. My suggestion is that Malawi can at least afford MK 10000000 for DR Nchessie and others who are making similar contributions to the Nation.

  18. all de best my teacher, although our career does nothing 2 develop this country dat is why we r not recognised.

  19. Ndimamudziwa Nchesi. He is hard worker and very dedicated. Congrants abwana . Stop being too emmotional

  21. Andrew my Std 6 teacher I wish u all the best in this competition and its my hope that you shall make it as you are indeed a very caring Teacher. On another note let me take advantage and get hold of your mobile number pliz. Mine are 0991323168/0881240683. My memories are still fresh when you used to cycle all the way from Nyambadwe and then pick me up on your Avon/Humber bike at Bvumbwe Trading Centre to and fro Machemba Primary School in 1995. And you know what that was the genesis of my future.

    1. We all wish the best education for our country and that the best students are selected on merit alone to progress from one academic stage to another. We want the best students who can compete in this global world. Quota system does the opposite to our education system, it lowers standards and produces mediocrity, and you say that is good for Malawi? Having few spaces at universities is no excuse for quota system.

      If you really know me, am not tribalistic at all. My own family covers two districts in the north, two districts in the centre and one district in the south. That is how complex I am. Yes am a northerner but a very complex one!!’

  25. Kenkk, stop thinking with a regional perspective for doing so is like thinking within the box. Think and reason at country level. Let’s learn to start discussing issues and congratulate our people who have shown extraordinary achievements in their various undertakings. Malawi’s problem go beyond the infamous quota. The country has a serious problem of access to tertiary education so pressing on Quota alone makes little sense to those that visualize Malawi’s education system from a broader perspective. If, in today’s world, you can only accommodate 2,000 or 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000 students in all public universities, then understand that Quota is just a tip of the iceberg. At a time when both public and private universities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are competing for the few qualified students, it is a pity to belong to a country where less than ten per cent of qualified students can actually find space in Malawi’s universities. These are the issues you need to discuss instead of narrowing your thinking to Quota. If your counterparts within the region are now employing Diploma and Degree holders to teach primary school students while holding a basic degree is still seen as a preserve for the few blessed Malawians, then consider yours a failed state. Do not narrow down your thinking to Quota. Bring issues that will help the government to prioritize education and specifically, access to tertiary education. That way, you will have greatly contributed towards the general good of Malawi’s education future. Think like a Malawian. Do not think like a Northerner, a Southerner or one from the Central.

  27. Congratulations for the hard and inspirational work in building educational sustainable and resilient communities from the creativity and limited available resources! Be a teacher with a value!

  31. You see even Clinton says you need to attract the best people to improve education, you can’t get that with the stupid discriminatory quota system we have in Malawi.

    2. don’t be so stupid. it seems you don’t know what you’re talking about.that system has never discriminate anyone but very is equity.

    3. So u think quarta is stupid? What about women empowerment? Everthing of subsidy? Ever thought of fairness? Haha vuto la amalawi timayankhula tisanaonetsetse, infact I love quarta in a way, they should also make sure it applies betwwn the rich and the poor! Stupid quart? Haha what a thing to say!

    4. Qouta system has nothing to do with standards. It is only tribalism that makes you think like that. Our under developed status is what limits us due greed and nepotism. Because our intake is limited those who think along tribal lines want only there tribe men to go through creating a problem that shouldn’t be. I went to Bunda in1972 through quota system. Of the three students weeded in our class two came from the north and of the five that progressed to a degree course in the second year none came from the north although northerners were in majority in that class. Dr Eric Chilembwe Dr Mthindi were two of the five and you can see how far they went with their education. For your information Mthindi was a classmate at Robert Blake. I got better grades at Cambridge and yet he clobbered me first year in college. In other words all who go to college are deserving. They can be Mchesis if they want and the only way we can create more mchesis is looking at our whole educational system and not getting stuck at a political solution called quota system. To be honest northerners created that system through their wakwithu mind set. Kamuzu and Bingu just found an answer to that problem.

      1. Kanchenga, please don’t be economic with the truth. There was no quota system at that time and your narration is not correct at all as to your Bunda story!!! Shame on you!!!

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