A teacher from Lamjung has made it to the top 50 list of finalists for the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize 2019. Shumsher Bahadur Thapa, 36, has founded two schools—New Vision Academy, a pre-school with around 25 students, and Heaven Hill Academy, which has over 100 students from nursery to Grade 4. He was selected from over 30,000 nominations and applications from 179 countries around the world.

According to Thapa, his schools provide free education to children from rural areas, breaking the boundaries of segregation and class society that are enforced in Nepal by the caste system and by differing financial and social backgrounds.

This has helped many children, including the so-called ‘untouchables’, get access to quality education, Thapa said.

Representatives from 38 countries are on the shortlist. The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on March 24. The US $1 million prize will be provided to one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the teaching profession.