DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Rouble Nagi, an Indian educator and social activist renowned for establishing hundreds of learning centers and creating educational murals in impoverished communities, was honored with the prestigious $1 million Global Teacher Prize on Thursday. The ceremony took place during the World Governments Summit in Dubai, which attracts international leaders annually.
Through her Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, she has launched over 800 learning centers aimed at providing structured education to out-of-school children while also supporting those already enrolled in formal schooling. Nagi’s innovative approach includes painting large-scale murals that visually teach subjects such as literacy, science, mathematics, and history, making learning accessible in public spaces.
The Varkey Foundation, founded by Sunny Varkey—who also established the for-profit GEMS Education network operating schools across Egypt, Qatar, and the UAE—sponsors the award. Nagi becomes the tenth recipient since the prize’s inception in 2015.
Nagi intends to allocate the prize money toward building a vocational training institute that will offer free skill-development programs. Previous winners of the Global Teacher Prize include educators from Kenya, Palestine, Canada, and Saudi Arabia—each recognized for their extraordinary contributions to underserved communities.
GEMS Education, one of the world’s largest private school operators, has played a significant role in the educational landscape of Dubai, where private institutions serve the children of the expatriate workforce driving the local economy.