UAE-based group institutes teachers awards

Dubai: A UAE-based group running several premier schools has instituted an award for teachers in India, a top official said here yesterday.

The winners of "Guruvar Awards", carrying a prize money of over Rs20 million (Dh 1.7 million), will be announced in February next year, said Sunny Varkey, the chairman of GEMS Education, which founded the Varkey GEMS Foundation that has instituted the award.

"About 60 per cent of the award money will go to the individual winner while the remaining 40 per cent will go to a project recommended," Varkey to Gulf News in an interview.

The programme will target over 144,000 teachers in about 3,000 schools across 45 cities in India.

Positive impact

"At GEMS we value teachers and their strong and positive impact on students and society. It will be our endeavour to make teaching one of the preferred professions in India and the global level. Therefore we felt the need to develop a platform which not only recognises their contribution but also celebrates teachers at a national level and brings forth the value they have for all of us in the society."

The categories being considered include for top teachers, principals and new teachers from different curricula like state boards and regional boards.

Nominees for the Guruvar Awards should be serving teachers in any field, who have been employed for at least five years by an accredited higher secondary school.

The jury, he said, would be looking for examples of service beyond the call of duty. A teacher can be nominated by their school, parents, students or fellow teachers.

Website

Nominations open in the next few weeks and the details are given on www.guruvarwards.com website.

Candidates meeting the criteria will be selected for the next round from the online nominations. The shortlisted candidates will compete at the national level for the awards, he said.