A Kenyan teacher who gives classes against violent extremism is one of 10 finalists up for $1m (\u00a3690,000) prize for the world’s best teacher.<\/p>\n
Ayub Mohamud teaches at a school identified as a recruiting ground for Islamist militants.<\/p>\n
He told the BBC he was excited and humbled by his nomination by the Varkey Foundation, which works to improve the education of underprivileged children.<\/p>\n
Kenya has been hit by several large-scale terror attacks in recent years.<\/p>\n
Last April, at least 148 people died when al-Shabab militants attacked a Kenyan university near the border with Somalia, where the al-Qaeda-linked group is based.<\/p>\n
It was also behind the four-day siege in 2013 at the Westgate mall in the capital, Nairobi, in which 67 people were killed.<\/p>\n
Mr Mohamud teaches business and Islamic studies in the Somali-dominated Eastleigh suburb of Nairobi, which is popularly referred to as “Little Mogadishu”.<\/p>\n
For the last five years, he has been discussing de-radicalisation in his religious education classes.<\/p>\n
In a leaked report from 2013, Kenya’s National Intelligence Agency reportedly said that al-Shabab militants had been recruiting at Mr Mohamud’s school, Eastleigh High.<\/p>\n
The teacher told the BBC’s Abdinoor Aden that he believes teachers can contribute to global efforts against terrorism.<\/p>\n
He said that if teachers gave students critical thinking skills and confidence they would “be able to reject extremists’ demands”.<\/p>\n
Al-Shabab has been at war with Kenya ever since Kenyan forces entered Somalia in October 2011 in an effort to crush the militants.<\/p>\n
Nine other teachers have been shortlisted for the award, including a US Air Force officer who teaches in an Indian red light district and a Japanese teacher who gets his message across using Lego.<\/p>\n
In its second year, the award was set up by the Varkey Foundation, the charitable arm of the Gems international education firm.<\/p>\n
The first winner of the Global Teachers’ Prize in 2015 was US teacher Nancie Atwell, who donated the $1m prize money to the school she set up in Maine.<\/p>\n
The winner of the Global Teachers’ Prize will be announced on 13 March.
\n–
\nBy: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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