Dubai

The Ministry of Education and GEMS Education on Wednesday launched a Dh1 million annual award to honour outstanding Emirati teachers.

The UAE National Teacher Prize, which was launched under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aims to reward innovative Emirati teachers for their efforts in building the UAE’s future generations.

Nominations will be open to all Emirati teachers across all private and public schools, either affiliated to the UAE Ministry of Education, Abu Dhabi Education Council or applied technology institutes, who are currently teaching students in all grades.

The requirements will be varied, assessing the teachers’ personalities and multiple roles performed not only in the local community but also in improving the academic level of students.

Teachers will also be expected to showcase their achievements through activities inside and outside classrooms.

Engineer Hussain Al Hammadi, UAE Minister of Education, said the award aims to encourage the UAE to try new methods of teaching, which involve creativity, active participation and high productivity.

“The teaching sector helps well-educated students in adopting true UAE values, provides a sense of nationalism and belonging to their homeland, belief in their leaders, and gives impetus to students to adopt the new developmental changes sought by the country. Teachers become a role model for others to follow and ensure a secure environment for others to depend on,” he said.

Sunny Varkey, Group Chairman and Founder of GEMS Education, said: “Teachers play an important and active role in education, which is how the idea of establishing the ‘UAE National Teacher Prize’ came about. The main aim of this award is to highlight the outstanding achievements of the teaching profession and its positive impact on the progress of our future generation of young, talented people.”

Applications can be submitted anytime in December 2015 on www.innovativeteacheraward.ae.

Following submissions, 21 of the best nominations will be shortlisted and a a jury consisting of educational and government personalities in the UAE will choose the winner. Those who do not win from the shortlist will get the opportunity to train outside the country at some of the best educational institutions in the world.

The winner will be announced during the ‘Government Summit’ in February 2016.