KUANTAN: Former English teacher Samuel Isaiah has again brought fame to the country, some two years after being listed among the top 10 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize in 2020.
On Nov 25, Samuel became the first Malaysian to be awarded the TRT World Citizen Educator Award 2020, a recognition for his outstanding efforts to empower the quality of education in Malaysia.
The 35-year-old Pemimpin programme director received the award during the TRT World Citizen Awards in Istanbul, Turkey. Pemimpin GSL is an organisation which focuses on improving school leadership.
Samuel, who spent eight years teaching at SK Runchang, located in an Orang Asli settlement in Pekan near here, dedicated the award to teachers around the globe who have worked tirelessly and went the extra mile for the sake of their students.
He reminded teachers that no effort is "too small and insignificant" and while under their care, no child should be left behind (in terms of education).
During his speech at the ceremony, Samuel called on governments around the world to focus on uplifting teachers and to provide them with due recognition.
"In a post Covid-19 era where learning poverty affects many countries, governments must continue to invest in teachers by rewarding them for their efforts, providing them the autonomy and platform to excel.
"Place trust in your teachers and you will see the results through your students," he said.
Meanwhile, Samuel said he has no plans to slow down but is determined to continuously soldier on to elevate the teaching profession in the country.
"I am always humbled by these awards and hope to make way for other educators in Malaysia to be recognised for their efforts too.
"In Pemimpin, we aspire to help the Orang Asli schools in Malaysia excel, besides providing high quality professional development for teachers and school leaders," he said.
TRT World Citizen Educator Award adds to the long list of recognitions won by Samuel this year, including the "Anugerah Khas Diraja Negeri Pahang" in July and "Anugerah Harapan Merdeka" in August.
Samuel's extraordinary commitment to educate Orang Asli children saw him being named as Asia's Most Influential in Education by Tatler magazine this year.
The TRT World Citizen, a philanthropic wing of Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), hosted the World Citizen Awards 2020-21.
It aims to recognise individuals around the world for their exemplary work in different fields, namely education, communication, youth, world citizen of the year and lifetime achievement.
Fondly known as "Teacher Sam" to his pupils, Samuel used to travel 200km a day during his teaching stint at SK Runchang and introduced sekolah pokok (tree school), where he taught English under the trees at the Runchang settlement twice a week after school hours.
Besides teaching pupils to use tablets with headphones, to play the ukulele and to sing English songs, he also introduced Asli E-pal, an electronic pen pal email exchange project.
Samuel's ties with the Orang Asli children went beyond the classroom walls. When he tied the knot in 2017, his pupils turned up to celebrate their favourite teacher's big day, travelling from their settlement in Runchang to the wedding and performing for the guests.
Although Samuel lost out to Ranjitsinh Disale from India, who was announced as the winner of the 2020 Global Teacher Prize, the educationist went on to make outstanding contributions to the teaching profession with the aim of bringing changes to the Orang Asli children.