Palestinian educator Maha Abu Manshar stated that her selection among the world’s top 50 teachers came after numerous contributions and initiatives aimed at raising awareness about the importance of education and fostering hope and creativity in the learning environment.
She mentioned that she launched approximately 16 initiatives to elevate and promote the value of education, particularly in her region, during periods when the educational process was disrupted, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global “Varkey” Foundation, one of the leading international organizations supporting education in developing countries, announced the selection of Maha Abu Manshar for its list of the world’s top 50 teachers for 2026, chosen from over 5,000 nominees across 139 countries.
Maha Abu Manshar, who teaches geography at the Yasser Amro Secondary School for Girls in Hebron, noted that students at the school face challenges, including a nearby settlement outpost and a checkpoint at its entrance. She emphasized that she transformed these challenges into a driving force to foster hope and creativity within the educational environment.
She highlighted an initiative titled “My Book is My Tool,” which was among the projects she launched. Through this initiative, she converted textbook content and images into educational models using ceramic clay.
She explained that she completed approximately 58 educational tools that visually represent abstract concepts from school textbooks in an innovative way.
The “My Book is My Tool” initiative received an Achievement and Excellence award at the national level in 2019.
She added, “I trained students in numerous digital skills, using various methods, with the goal of enhancing the educational process and developing their capabilities.”
Abu Manshar clarified that she is the only female teacher selected from her region, alongside one other teacher from a different area, in recognition of their efforts in serving education in Palestine.
