The Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards will be presented at the 19th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) in Nassau, June 22-26, 2015.
The announcement was made by Eldred Bethel, high commissioner of The Bahamas to London, and Deodat Maharaj, deputy secretary-general of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The purpose of the awards is to focus on educational issues and highlight good practices in Commonwealth countries including programs, policies, projects or strategies that have made a positive difference to school students, their teachers, or the education system of a country.
The awards also serve to highlight promising or innovative educational practices that could become models in other Commonwealth nations.
The awards have been steadily growing with the previous round attracting submissions from 27 countries. A community-based educational project in Rwanda won in the last round of awards. The awards were launched at Marlborough House in London on Wednesday, March 19.
Bethel told the Commonwealth diplomats at the launch that although various countries are feeling constraints of limited budgets today, they must not lose sight of the importance of education. "The Bahamas believes everyone benefits when we invest in education.
Education transforms individual lives, empowering people to pursue their dreams of a better life and expand their human potential."
Bethel told them that education gets a lion's share of the annual Bahamian government's budget. Submissions are open to education ministries and institutions, schools and civil society organizations from around the Commonwealth and will be evaluated by independent adjudicators on their relevance to the local context, measurable impact, sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness, community involvement, and ability to be replicated.
The four finalists will be invited to The Bahamas and their projects profiled during the 19th CCEM where the winners will be announced. Applications are available at www.thecommonwealth.org/education.
Submission deadline is January 16, 2015. The Bahamas will also be the venue for the 19th Commonwealth Education Ministers Meeting, the second largest Commonwealth meeting after the Heads of Government Meeting. Fifty-three Commonwealth education ministers, senior officials and stakeholders are expected to attend.
"They can be assured of great warmth and hospitality. We want to do everything possible to make the visit to Nassau memorable and we are making special arrangements to show you the warmth of Bahamian hospitality," said the Bahamian high commissioner.
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