Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah, Tuesday evening the winners of the Jeddah Distinguished Teacher award at King Faisal Auditorium in King Abdulaziz University. Minister of Education Dr. Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Issa, General Director of Education Abdullah Bin Ahmad Al-Thagafi and the founders of Jeddah Distinguished Teacher Award were also in attendance. Saudi female teacher Taghraeed Al-Malki from the 14th High School was named as the winner of the grand prize of "Jeddah Distinguished Award". In addition to the award, Taghreed was also given SR200,000 in cash. Taghreed dedicated her victory to Allah, her parents and her family. She also thanked the governor and founders of "Jeddah Distinguished Teacher" for the great honor. "Teaching is a noble profession, it is a calling and it is a commitment to building the nation. I thank Allah today for my life, and I thank you all for restoring the dignity and pride of teachers," she said. Currently in its fifth edition, the Jeddah Distinguished Teacher award seeks to improve the quality of the educational system and encourage initiatives, innovation and excellence in all literary and scientific domains. The winners are selected by a committee consisting of several academic personalities from various educational institutions. Governor Prince Mishal, who is also Chairman of the award committee, complemented the great efforts of teachers at all levels and congratulated the winners. "We see in this ceremony a prime opportunity for great efforts and channeling them to move our nation forward toward a brighter future in education," he said. The award is meant to reward top-quality teaching achievements. Teachers who are awarded the prize represent both expertise in academic teaching and genuine dedication to the students' learning, said Osama A. Elkhereiji, general director of the award. Elkhereiji noted that the award is part of the social activities of Jeddah residents toward teachers. The award, he said, is intended to recognize individual faculty for sustained performance of excellence in teaching. "Above and beyond an individual exemplary class, this kind of sustained excellence in teaching incites intellectual curiosity in students, inspires departmental colleagues, and makes students aware of significant relationships between the academy and the world at large," he said. Around 6,682 teachers registered for this year's award and finally 14 teachers were selected as winners.
