COLOMBO (News 1st) – Sri Lankan-born Australian Yasodai Selvakumaran has been named a finalist for the $1 million Global Teacher Prize.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman did the honours, announcing the list of 10 from a field of 10,000 applicants spanning 179 countries.

Yasodai Selvakumaran is fondly known as Ms. Selva to her humanities students at Rooty Hill High School. More than 10,000 teachers from around the world were nominated. This year, Selvakumaran’s fellow top 10 teachers hail from all around the globe. Educators from Japan, Brazil, India, Georgia, The Netherlands, the UK, and the USA also made the final list.

The winner will take home $1 million in prize money to use towards an innovative education project of their choice.

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