Amman, May 28 (Petra) – Deputizing for Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Chairperson of the Queen Rania Awards for Excellence in Education (QRAEE) Board of Trustees, Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Scientific Research Azmi Mahafzah honored the winners of the 19th edition of the Distinguished Teacher Award, the sixth edition of the Distinguished Educational Counselor Award, and the fifth edition of the Excellence-Supporting Directorate Awards during a ceremony held at the Royal Cultural Palace in Amman on Wednesday.
Members of the board of directors and media and education sector representatives attended the ceremony, in addition to the award’s partner sponsors from the public and private sectors, members of its assessment committees, and coordinators.
In his remarks, Mahafza stressed that the ministry has not only embraced excellence programs but has also turned them into institutional strategies.

The minister highlighted the QRAEE Association’s efforts in achieving this goal by investing in the winning kindergartens as centers of educational expertise, and adopting key results from its report on distinguished kindergarten awards to draw future educational policies.

Mahafza also noted the wide adoption of two of the programs created by the award’s first edition, namely Class of Joy and Interactive Walls, which were implemented in numerous schools across the country.
Executive Director of the QRAEE Association Lubna Touqan announced the launch of its latest award of appreciation for the upcoming school year, the Schools Supporting Programs of Excellence Award, which will serve as an umbrella for all the association’s programs. Touqan also invited schools to visit the award’s online portal, which will serve as a platform to document each school’s journey towards educational excellence.
In her speech, Touqan pointed out that this latest award has revealed that more than 2,200 schools participated in the My Beautiful Environment program in its 17th year and adopted the Interactive Walls program in its first year. Additionally, the Class of Joy program was adopted by more than 250 schools to provide a safe and positive experience for young students. She also highlighted the award’s digital library and its growing Arabic content.
This year’s winners of the Excellence-Supporting Directorate Award included the directorates of (Al-Shouneh Al-Janoubieh), (Liwa' Al-Jami'ah) and (Qasabat Irbid), which received certificates of appreciation as supporters of excellence, as well as for their efforts and contributions towards promoting and enforcing the culture of excellence. The winning directorates also received non-monetary incentives provided by the association in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
Winners of the Distinguished Teacher Award for Category 1 (A), kindergarten education, were Iman Mohammad Bani Salman from the Ajloun Directorate in first place and Amal Mohammad Al-Qawasmeh from Liwa' Al-Jami'ah Directorate in third place.
For Category 1 (B), grades 1 to 3, the first-place winner was Yasmeen Suleiman Alyan from Al-Qweismeh Directorate; the second-place winners were Azhar Khidr Dagher from Liwa' Al-Jami'ah Directorate and Layali Nahar Al-Mahawesh from Liwa' Marka Directorate; and the third-place winner was Bayan Mohammad Jaradat from Qasaba Irbid Directorate.
For Category 2, grades 4 to 6, the third-place winners were Asma Abdulrahman Al-Hawamdeh from Jerash Directorate and Ghadir Lutfi Kaabi from Liwa' Marka Directorate.
For Category 3, grades 7 to 9, the third-place winners were Khetam Ali Al-Bayer from Qasabat Irbid Directorate and Sana Hassan Nababteh from Al-Qweismeh Directorate.
For Category 4, the academic education, comprehensive vocational education, and the technical education (BTEC) for grades 10 to 12 , the second-place winner was Wijdan Rasheed Malhim from Qasabat Irbid Directorate, and the third-place winner was Ola Muhannad Othman from First Zarqa Directorate.
As for the Distinguished Educational Counselor Award, the third-place winner was Asma Hasan Abu Hondi from Al-Qweismeh Directorate.
Additionally, 14 teachers and educational counselors received certificates of appreciation on a national level, while 47 teachers and three educational counselors received certificates of appreciation at the directorate level in recognition of their efforts.
Monetary prizes were also awarded to winners of the Distinguished Teacher and Educational Counselor Awards, with first-place winners receiving JD4,000, second-place winners receiving JD3,000, third-place winners receiving JD2,000, and recipients of appreciation certificates on the national level receiving JD400.
Winners of the Excellence-Supporting Directorate Awards also received JD3,000 to support their developmental plan budget for the excellence and innovation category, in addition to letters of appreciation for each directorate’s staff members.
In addition to monetary awards, winners and recipients of certificates of appreciation are also eligible for non-monetary incentives from QRAEE, provided in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, private sector institutions, academic and educational establishments, and media organizations. These incentives aim to assist the winners in their professional, academic, and educational development.

//Petra// AF

28/05/2025 22:58:05