DUBAI 23 October 2020: Fifth grader Sultan Al Mazrouie has been named the UAE’s Arab Reading Champion, after outperforming 452,000 participating students.
Announced during a remote event, Al Mazrouie from Ajyal International School in Abu Dhabi won the national competition of this year’s Arab Reading Challenge that involved 90 semi-finalists, selected from a larger pool of 540 contenders. The 11-year-old bagged the award after the committee selected him out of 10 finalists. He read 300 books in history, philosophy, literature and science.
Moza Al Ghannah was named this year’s “Outstanding Supervisor” for her efforts in supporting and empowering students to read and summarise books digitally, while Atika bint Zaid Basic Education School bagged the UAE’s “Best School” award, beating 1,435 public and private schools.
Al Mazrouie will represent the UAE in the regional finals of the 5th edition of the Arab Reading Challenge that will crown the winner out of a whopping 21 million participating students from 51 countries around the world, said Wam.
The final qualifications to select one winner from each country to join the Challenge’s semi-finals are currently taking place remotely amid health restrictions and distance learning education strategies posed by the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
Students are evaluated based on text comprehension, critical thinking, self-expression and reading diversity.
The Arab Reading Challenge, launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, has had an exceptional role this year in encouraging students to read at home as cities around the world went on lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. Students were provided with a big selection of reading options online and digital files to summarize their reading material.
The challenge aims to make reading a lifestyle among school students as part of the wider mission to nurture a knowledgeable and enlightened young generation.
Al Mazrouie’s victory echoes last year’s UAE winner Mezna Najeeb from Al Ebdaa Model School in Dubai who bagged the award as a 5th grader after outperforming students from 1,412 public and private schools.
The national awards ceremony took place remotely with the attendance of Jameela Al Muheiri, Minister of State for Public Education, Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Assistant Undersecretary for Care and Activities Sector at the Ministry of Education, Dr. Rabaa Al Sumaiti, Assistant Undersecretary for the Performance Improvement Sector, and Muna Al Kindi, Secretary General of the Arab Reading Challenge alongside school faculty, experts, academics and judging committee members.
UAE’s finalists include: Shahd Rashid Al Yamahi, grade 11, Al Tawyeen School Shahd Salem Abdullah Al Mazrouei, grade 5, Al Salam School – Charter Schools Jamila Hassan Al Zaabi, grade 11, Al Shefa bint Abdulla School Mashael Talal Mohammed, grade 12, Zayed School Complex Mohammed Ibrahim Al Bloushi, grade 11, Al Dhmaa School Mohammed Ali Al Ketbi, grade 10, Al Dhaid Secondary School Reem Ali Salem, grade 11, Shamal Secondary School Islam Hazem, grade 12, Qatr Al Nahda Secondary School Ahmed Mohammed, grade 11, Tunb Secondary School
CLICK FOR NEWS ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
ALSO READ:
