Celebrating educational excellence

By Noimot Olayiwola

HH the Heir Apparent and Chairman of the Supreme Education Council Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani distributing prizes to some of the awardees

HH the Heir Apparent and Supreme Education Council chairperson Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani yesterday bestowed education excellence awards on some 14 outstanding secondary school graduates, seven university graduates, one PhD holder, one teacher and one school at the annual Education Excellence Day (EED) award ceremony held at the Doha Sheraton.
In continuation of the country’s longstanding tradition of celebrating educational achievement, winners received awards in two categories: platinum and gold.
They also received excellence certificate as well as  financial rewards.
The EED award under HH Sheikh Tamim’s patronage aims  to promote innovation and establish a culture of excellence among the Qatari society, particularly in education.
The award also promotes the implementation of international standards of excellence  as a means to enrich the educational field while seeking to reinforce the status of individuals and institutions and enable them to contribute to the development of the country’s educational process. 
The award also recognises and celebrates the outstanding performance of educators in Qatar, as well as to encourage all individuals and educational institutions to elevate their performance and promote positive trends towards knowledge and scientific research, apart from fostering the spirit of innovation and healthy competition in achieving educational excellence.

HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani with Sheikhs, ministers and education officials at the ceremony

The reward also motivates individuals and institutions to steer their capacity in areas that best serve the development needs of the country.
In his opening speech, the Minister of Education and Higher Education and the SEC Secretary General, HE Saad bin Ibrahim al-Mahmoud, said the EED was considered one of the national pillars that fostered creativity, glorified excellence and valued those who seek it.
"Our wise leadership has paid special attention to the EED award, as HH the Heir Apparent has taken the day under his generous patronage, in recognition of Qatar’s distinguished sons and daughters and to encourage excellent students among them, as well as to uphold the value of education excellence to make it an objective sought by the sons of this generous nation,” he noted.

Awardees pose with HH the Heir Apparent and Chairman of the Supreme Education Council Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani for a photo

The minister, who is also the EED Board of Trustees chairman maintained that the educational policy drew its power from believing in the importance of the role of education in leading the comprehensive development the foundations of which had been laid by HH the Emir by emphasising that Qatar’s most precious wealth was the human capital.
"The human resources which the country is exerting all efforts in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 will help meet the requirements of the labour market and face its challenges through developing the three pillars of education (the school, the teacher and the student),” he said.
"We are aware that our schools are full of distinguished individuals as well as honourable and ambitious examples that deserve praise, appreciation and encouragement,” he added.
HE al-Mahmoud also noted that many accomplishments have been achieved in the field of education that support development such as the inauguration of the Community College which aims at diversifying learning options, in addition to the development of educational assessment methods and its tools which enhance educational outcomes.
"We continue to seek the advancement of education to the international standards in order to reach our holistic objectives, the foundation of which were laid down by our wise leadership,” he said adding that "The EED has achieved over the past years many positive outcomes and have witnessed significant growth in motivating our students and graduates and teachers to participate in this vital national project.”
As a gesture of appreciation, the awardees took a memorial photo with HH Sheikh Tamim al-Thani after receiving the awards.
In attendance at the event were a number of educational leaders, school principals, teachers, parents and students.

The awardees
Secondary School students (Platinum awardees ):
Souad Faisal Mohamed Aqeel - Al Bayan Educational Complex for Girls 
Fatema Majed Abdulla al-Malki - Qatar Academy 
Sara Mubarak al-Hajri - Al Bayan Educational Complex for Girls 
Noora Essa R A al-Kaabi  - Al-Shaymma Independent School for Girls 
Aber Ebrahim al-Mohsin - Al-Shaymma Independent School for Girls 
Fatima Abdulla A al-Bishi -  Al-Shaymma Independent School for Girls 
(Gold awardees):
Fatima Nasser Nasser J al-Naimi - Al Bayan Educational Complex for Girls 
Yara Bader A Darwish Fakroo - Qatar Academy 
Mooza Mohamed Rashid al-Sowaidi - Doha College 
Fatima Jassim Murtada Sheban - Al Ieman Secondary Independent School for Girls 
Mushael Mustafa Al-Marzouqi - Al Wakra Secondary Independent School for Girls 
Fatima Ibrahim Al-othman Fakhroo - Al-Shaymma Secondary Independent School for Girls 
Dana Zafer M AlHababi - Al Andalus Private School for Girls 
Mariam Abdulla Ahmed al-Thani - Qatar Academy 
University  (Platinum)
Saad Rashid Saad al-Matwi (Bs Business Administration with honours) - Carnegie Mellon University
University (Gold)
Bara’ah Essa Saad al-Nesf (Bachelor of  Science Architecture Engineering) - Qatar University
Muna Ibrahim H al-Mohannadi (Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering) -Texas A&M University at Qatar
Safia Mehanna Ali al-Naimi (Bachelor degree in International Politics with honours) - GeorgeTown University
Mohamed Rashid al-Snaid al-Marri (Bachelor degree - Sharia -Origin of Religion) - Qatar University
Nejoud Mohamad Abdulla al-Malki (Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering ) -Texas A&M University at Qatar
Shaikha Abdulla Abdulatif al-Kuwari (Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering) - Qatar University
Best Teacher: Secondary stage
Hanan Saad al-Kubaisi - Al-Shaymma Independent School for girls
Best Performing School in Qatar (Comprehensive Educational Assessment)
Al-Bayan Secondary  School for girls ( operator - Hessa al-Abdulla)
PhD
Maryyam Khalid al-Hamar (PhD in Computer Science/Information) University of Loughborough, UK
Winners from secondary school graduate (level one) will receive  platinum medal and excellence certificate in addition to a financial reward of QR35,000 each.
Winners from secondary school graduate (level two) will receive  gold medal and excellence certificate in addition to a financial reward of QR25,000 each.
Winners from university graduate ( level one)  will receive  platinum medal and excellence certificate in addition to a financial reward of QR45,000.
Winners from university graduate ( level two)  will receive  gold medal and excellence certificate in addition to a financial reward of QR35,000 each.
PhD holders will receive a platinum medal and a financial reward of QR60000.
The outstanding teacher will receive a platinum medal, an excellence certificate plus QR60000.