Teacher who reached out to never-been-to-school kids, drew wall murals to educate them honoured with $1m global prize

MUMBAI: For years, teacher and artist Rouble Nagi has used walls in slums for creation of murals to teach children who seldom make it to classrooms. On Thursday, that work was recognised on a global stage when she won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize 2026 — world’s largest award for educators.

It was presented at World Governments Summit in Dubai, an annual gathering of leaders and policymakers. Now in its tenth year, the prize — an initiative of Varkey Foundation along with Unesco — honours teachers whose work reshaped learning outcomes and communities.

Nagi, who has developed pedagogy around art, began her work in the slums of Mumbai about a decade ago. Accepting the award, she said recognition of work rooted in “education, compassion, consistency and service” had strengthened her resolve to continue working with children on the margins.

Through the Rouble Nagi Art Foundation, she has established over 800 learning centres in India, reaching children who have never attended school as well as those enrolled but struggling to keep pace. The focus is foundational literacy, numeracy and basic conceptual understanding in communities where formal schooling often fails to hold.

Nagi is perhaps best known for her murals, which use colour, symbols and stories to impart lessons. Neglected spaces in settlements turn into open-air classrooms which teach language, science, mathematics and history. Art is central to her as a tool to instil confidence, heal and allow self expression.

Starting out with a small, hands-on effort among families living in fragile conditions, Nagi Art Foundation has expanded to villages and various urban centres. The underlying belief, she said, is that inequality is not destiny, and that education delivered with dignity can bridge the gap between exclusion and opportunity. An educator who is inspired by the legacy of Savitribai Phule, Nagi said she has remained committed to education without discrimination.

Under her Misaal India initiative, Nagi has also set up skill centres for women, helping them achieve financial independence and emerge as entrepreneurs.

Sunny Varkey, founder of Global Teacher Prize and GEMS Education, said Nagi represented “the very best of what teaching can be — courage, creativity and compassion”. Francis Joseph, CEO of GEMS Education, said Nagi’s influence extended beyond conventional classrooms. Stefania Giannini, Unesco’s assistant director-general for education, said the award reaffirmed a “simple truth: teachers matter”.


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