Saudi educator awarded Global Teacher Prize

The $1 million Global Teacher Prize has been awarded to Mansour Al-Mansour, a Saudi educator known for his community service, including transforming the lives of hundreds of gifted orphans.

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, presented the award during the World Governments Summit in Dubai.

Al-Mansour, a teacher at Prince Saud bin Jalawi School in Al-Ahsa, has volunteered over 3,000 hours helping his community, and was selected from over 5,000 nominations and applications from 89 countries.

Since 2001, Al-Mansour has been teaching in low-income neighbourhoods, supporting students facing academic challenges, including those with disabilities, learning difficulties, and children from illiterate families.

He also helped his students take part in the ‘Riyali Financial Awareness Initiative’, aimed at empowering low-income students by equipping them with entrepreneurship skills and financial literacy training to become financially independent.

In collaboration with charitable organisations, Mansour provided interest-free loans of SAR 500 per student to establish small business kiosks, with students earning between SAR 1,300 to 1,500 within two months.

Beyond his work with students, Al-Mansour has authored more than 21 books on education, including subjects like innovative teaching and professional ethics, and provided over 300 training hours to educators across the Gulf region.

His impactful contributions also led to his appointment as an international ambassador for the Hamdan Bin Rashid Foundation in Dubai, travelling across Gulf countries sharing his expertise and training teachers.

In the presence of Mohammed bin Rashid and Mansour bin Zayed, Hamdan bin Mohammed presents Saudi teacher Mansour bin Abdullah Al-Mansour with Global Teacher Prize. The ceremony was held during the World Governments Summit 2025. pic.twitter.com/SRQUlctz0f

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 13, 2025

Now in its ninth year, the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize, a Varkey Foundation initiative organised in collaboration with UNESCO, was set up to recognise 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.

The top 10 finalists for the 2025 award were Brett Dascombe from Australia; Céline Haller from France; Erick Hueck from the US; Karina Sarro from Argentina; Mohammad Imran Khan Mewati from India; Muhammad Nazmi from Malaysia; Ramón Majé Floriano from Colombia; Subash Chandar K from New Zealand; and Tionge Mtambo from Malawi.

Candidates are assessed on teaching practices, how they innovate to address local challenges, achieve demonstrable learning outcomes, impact the community beyond the classroom, help children become global citizens, improve the teaching profession, and gain recognition from external bodies.