Queen honours teachers, principals at education excellence award ceremony

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania honoured winners of the 2019 Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education (QRAEE) during the 14th edition of the Teacher Award and the 6th edition of the Principals Award during a ceremony held at the Royal Cultural Palace in Amman on Monday.

In her capacity as chairperson of QRAEE’s board of trustees, Her Majesty presented the winners with trophies and certificates and congratulated them on their achievements.

Addressing the Queen in remarks he delivered at the award ceremony, Education Minister Tayseer Nuaimi said: “His Majesty and Your Majesty have made education your mission and undertaking, in honour of teachers and their indispensable role in shaping the minds of future generations.”

“Excellence and innovation are rooted in the Hashemite mindset, as outlined in His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives in the Seventh Discussion Paper,” he added.

Nuaimi also congratulated the winners for the “well-deserved” Royal honour after meeting the requirements of the award, praising the efforts of the QRAEE in improving the education system and instilling a culture of excellence. 

As part of its strategic plan to improve the quality of human resources in the Kingdom, Nuaimi said the Education Ministry adopted a comprehensive approach in its policies, in cooperation with the QRAEE, which focuses on creativity and innovation for the betterment of academia and education programmes. 

In her opening speech, QRAEE Executive Director Lubna Touqan congratulated the nominees for both awards, noting that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, a detailed plan was launched to enhance the role of distinguished academics and principals at their schools. 

Touqan announced the Education District Supporting Excellence in Education Award, which will target educational institutions, with its first cycle set to begin in 2020.

She highlighted the nominees' efforts in conducting training workshops for new teachers in the sector to transfer their expertise and organise education societies. 

This year, QRAEE announced it had received 3,896 applications, of which 3,582 were for the Distinguished Teacher Award and 314 for the Distinguished Principal Award. QRAEE also noted that there was a 45 per cent increase in applications for the teacher award and a 24 per cent increase in applications for the principal’s award compared with last year.

Out of thousands of applicants, 29 teachers received the Distinguished Teacher Award and 11 principals received the Distinguished Principal Award. All winners were awarded certificates of excellence, while first place winners among both teachers and principals received trophies as well. Another 30 teachers and seven principals, who qualified as finalists but did not win, were handed certificates of appreciation.

For the Principal Award, 87 per cent of applicants this year were women, while 45 per cent of application came from the central region of the Kingdom, 32 per cent from the north and 23 per cent from the south, according to event organisers. 

As for the Teacher Award, 82 per cent of applicants were women, while 46 per cent of applications came from the central region, 36 per cent from the north and 18 per cent from the south.

Launched in 2005 by Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania in partnership with the Ministry of Education, QRAEE aims to set a national standard of excellence in teaching and to celebrate and honour educators who work tirelessly to meet it.

Sponsored by Zain Jordan, this year’s ceremony was attended by award finalists and their families, previous award winners, QRAEE board members and public and private sector partners, education ministry staff, media personalities, educators from various educational districts, members of the award judging panel and presidents of universities.

All winning teachers and school principals who earned first, second or third place in their respective categories received monetary awards and certificates. 

School principals were granted JD5,000 for first place, JD4,000 for second place and JD3,000 for third place, while teachers were awarded JD4,000 for first place, JD3,000 for second place and JD2,000 for third place. 

Finalists who did not win still received rewards of up to JD500.

Winners also received non-monetary awards from the Ministry of Education, including higher rankings and a chance to improve their academic standing by competing for different scholarship opportunities.