India’s Rouble Nagi wins $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2026 at World Governments Summit
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India’s Rouble Nagi, an art and social science teacher from Mumbai, has won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2026 at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, earning international recognition for her work using art as a tool to expand access to education.
The award was presented by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, alongside Sunny Varkey, founder of GEMS Education and the Varkey Foundation.
Nagi was honored for her work through Misaal India and the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, initiatives focused on bringing education to children in slums and rural communities across India. Over the past 20 years, her movement has set up more than 800 learning centers, mobilized around 600 volunteers and paid teachers, and developed a model that reaches children often excluded from formal education, according to a Hindustan Times report.
Her teaching philosophy moves beyond traditional classrooms. Through her “Living Walls of Learning” initiative, neighborhood lanes, courtyards, and public spaces are transformed into large-scale educational murals that function as permanent textbooks. These artworks allow entire communities to engage with lessons in literacy, numeracy, and social awareness in everyday surroundings.
Nagi’s approach combines academics with life skills, vocational exposure, and creative expression, helping students build confidence, independence, and aspiration. Many of the children involved are first-generation learners facing social and economic barriers to sustained schooling.
“This gives me the momentum to go further reaching more children, breaking down barriers, and ensuring every learner can not only access education but also stay and succeed,” Nagi said in an earlier statement.
Now in its tenth year, the Global Teacher Prize is run by the Varkey Foundation in partnership with UNESCO and has received more than 100,000 nominations worldwide. The award highlights educators whose impact extends far beyond the classroom.
Last year’s winner was Saudi Arabian teacher Mansour bin Abdullah Al-Mansour, recognized for volunteering more than 3,000 hours to support his community, including initiatives benefiting gifted orphans and prisoners.
