Svitlana Merkulova, an English teacher at Irpin Lyceum No. 2 in Irpin, has won the tenth, anniversary Global Teacher Prize Ukraine. She will receive one million hryvnias.
This was reported by Osvitoria, which organises the prize.
The winner’s name was announced on 3 October at a ceremony at the National Opera of Ukraine. By tradition, it was lit up in a light show on the Motherland Monument.
Photo: OsvitoriaWhat the winner said
Svitlana MerkulovaEnglish teacher at Irpin Lyceum No. 2Being a teacher today means holding the light when there is complete darkness around. It means being the reliable adult who helps a child feel the ground under their feet and regain faith in their own strength
She called the victory a win for every teacher working in a classroom, online or in a shelter. “Investing in the Ukrainian teacher, supporting their resilience and resources, is an investment in our country’s national security,” Merkulova said.
How she teaches
Svitlana Merkulova has taught English at the lyceum since 1996. She came to school by chance: in her third year at university she was asked to stand in for a teacher, and instead of theory she took the pupils on a virtual trip around London.
After 2022, English became a way for her pupils in Irpin to talk about the future. Her rule for a lesson is simple: the teacher talks 20% of the time, the pupils 80%.
Merkulova combines the flipped classroom, project-based learning and trauma-informed teaching. Her pupils write to peers abroad, create English-language guides to Irpin and debate artificial intelligence.
Her graduates include Krystina Anisimova-Mukhina, who scored 200 points in English on this year’s national multi-subject test, as well as prize winners of regional olympiads, Irpin City Council reported. She has also just been awarded the honorary title of Honoured Teacher of Ukraine.
This year the prize received 1,169 applications and 1,723 nominations. The ceremony was broadcast on 4 October on the United News telethon and Kyivstar TV.
As a reminder, on the eve of Education Day the Irpin art school thanked its teachers with a festive concert.
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