Supreme Education Council Calls for Nominations for 2009 Education Excellence Day Awards

The Supreme Education Council (SEC) today announced that all nominations for 2009 Education Excellence Day are due by 17 September. The Minister of Education and Higher Education and Secretary General of Supreme Education Council H.E. Saad bin Ibrahim al-Mahmoud said that Education Excellence Day under the patronage of HH Heir Apparent and chairman of the Supreme Education Council Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani is the cornerstone for national capacity building as it aims to identify and honor distinguished Qatari academicians, teachers and students. The celebration of EED will highlight their achievements and direct their competence towards attaining the national developmental goals of the state of Qatar.

Education Excellence Day is an annual event that honors the outstanding students, schools, teachers and researchers who have made positive contributions to the education system in Qatar and encourages them to continue their excellent work. As we continue to make progress toward reaching our goal of building a world-class education system, it is critical that we recognize the many achievements of our citizens along the way.

Each nomination category has its own set of criteria, submission guidelines, booklets and application material that must be completed to successfully submit a nomination. General information is below and more details are available online through the Education Excellence Day website.

The categories for nominees include:

• University Students – A Qatari student who scored a 3.6 GPA or its equivalent and above during the academic year (2008/09), has graduated from one of the accredited universities and meets the Education Excellence Day assessment criteria.
• PhD Students – A Qatari national whose PhD degree must be from an accredited university and must have been awarded during academic year (2008/09).
• High School Students – A Qatari student who scored an average of 95 percent and above during the past three years, has graduated from one of the schools in Qatar and meets the Education Excellence Day assessment criteria.
• Excellent Teacher – A Qatari teacher currently teaching in a government, Independent or private school in Qatar, has attained 90 percent or above in the annual performance report for the past three years and meets the Education Excellence Day assessment criteria.
• Excellent School – A school in Qatar where at least 50 percent of students are Qatari nationals and meets 80 percent of the Education Excellence Day assessment criteria.
• Excellent Research – A creative and innovative scientific research project conducted by Qatari high school students during the academic year (2008/09) that meets the Education Excellence Day assessment criteria.

The guidelines for submission include:

• Schools are responsible for collecting teachers’ application forms.
• Schools applying for Education Excellence Day awards should directly nominate themselves.
• Secondary schools are responsible for collecting students’ application forms for the excellent student category and excellent scientific research category.
• All Independent and private schools should submit their applications (application forms for students and scientific research) to the Office of Communications of the Supreme Education Council.
• All Ministry of Education schools and all schools operating under the umbrella of the Ministry must submit their applications to the Public Relations department of the Ministry of Education.
• The Higher Education Institute will receive applications from university students graduating from: scholarship programs, the Education City campus, The College of the North Atlantic and applications of graduating students sent by their employers on scholarship programs.
• The Public Relations Office at Qatar University will receive application forms of their students.
• Ph.D holders will directly nominate themselves and can submit their applications through the Office of Communications of the SEC.
• All application forms (original copies) must be delivered to the offices specified above. Students currently studying outside Qatar who wish to apply may download the application forms from the Education Excellence Day website.

The Education Excellence Day panel of experts will select finalists in each category to take part in an Education Excellence Day ceremony on 11 November.

The panelists include:

• Dr. Hamda Al Sulaiti – Assistant Director , Evaluation Institute, Chairman of High School Students
• Dr. Hissa Saddiq – Dean of collage of Education, Qatar University, Chairman of Graduate Students
• Dr. Abdul Sattar El Taie – Qatar National Research Fund Director, Chairman for Scientific Research for High School Students
• Dr. Osman El Nawawy –Consultant in the Office of the Vice President - Qatar University, Chairman for the Ph.D. nominees
• Mrs. Ainaa Obeidan – Expert at HE the Minister of Education's office, Chairman for the Outstanding School
• Mrs. Haia Jaham Al Kuwari – Head of the executive committee for semi- independent schools, Chairman for the Outstanding Teacher

The SEC Office of Communications is available to answer questions as individuals are filling out their nominations. For further information, individuals are encouraged to visit the website and/or call 4559388 or 4559393. Graduate university students should call 4560753. For more information, please visit the Education Excellence Day website.