Three Pakistani teachers have made the top 50 shortlisted nominations for the second annual Global Teacher Prize 2016.

The Global Teacher Prize is also referred to as the Nobel Prize for teaching operates under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai. This is an annual one million dollar award given to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.

From a total of 8,000 applications from 148 countries, 50 candidates from 128 countries qualified in the shortlisting for this award. The nominees from Pakistan in the top 50 are Humaira Bachal, Aqeela Asifi and Neelofar Ali. A sneak peek into their biographies is shared below.

Humaira Bachal at an age of twelve started teaching friends after school in the slums of Karachi and now advocates girls’ education in Pakistan. She was the first female in her family to be educated.

Aqeela Asifi has founded a school in the Kot Chandana refugee community of Pakistan, which began in a borrowed tent. She serves as counselor to both refugee and local Pakistani children to enable and facilitate interaction and cross-cultural exchanges contributing to tolerance, social cohesion and peaceful co-existence among Afghan refugees.

Neelofar set up the first Montessori school in Gilgit Baltistan and thus introduced its Early Childhood Development model and stimulating teaching style to the region.

The nominated 50 will further be shortlisted to 10 teachers by the prize committee in February 2016 and the winner announced in March 2016 at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai.