Peter Tabichi is a Kenyan Science teacher from Nakuru county. He was crowned as the world’s best teacher, winning the 2019 Global Teacher Prize.
Peter Tabichi is a math and physics teacher that donates more than 80% of his monthly income to help the poor. He also led his school to victory as the best in national science competitions. His dedication, hard work, and passion for improving students’ educational outcomes in Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Pwani Village (in former Rift Valley province) has brought him international fame and recognition.
95% of pupils in Keriko School are from from poor families, with more than 30% being orphans or with just one parent. and many go without food at home. In this community, drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, dropping out early from school, early marriages, and suicide are prevalent. Students, who are from diverse cultures and religions, are forced to learn in poorly equipped classrooms. Due to these circumstances, the students’ lives can be difficult but Peter Tabichi brought a significant change. Perhaps the reasons that led to this award are the fact that he turned around a school that had poor performance to recording impressive grades. Turning lives around in a school with only one computer, poor internet, and a student-teacher ratio of 58:1.
Peter Tabichi introduced a talent nurturing club in the school, and he expanded the existing Science Club. His contribution helping pupils design research projects of such quality that 60% now qualify for national competitions. Peter mentored his pupils through the Kenya Science and Engineering Fair 2018 – where students showcased a device they had invented to allow blind and deaf people to measure objects. Peter saw his village school come first nationally in the public schools category.
The Mathematical Science team also qualified to participate at the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair 2019 in Arizona, USA, for which they’re currently preparing. The learners also won an award from The Royal Society of Chemistry after harnessing local plant life to generate electricity.
2019 UN Person of the Year Award
Peter Tabichi was also crowned the 2019 UN Person of the Year Award. Brother Tabichi was the first teacher from Africa to win the fifth edition of the World Teacher of the Year award, accompanied by a Sh100 million cash prize. He also joined sixteen other individuals who have been named UN Persons of the Year since 2002.