Guruvar Awards announces Grand Jury; Strategic Advisory Panel to guide the course of the Awards
- Grand Jury to choose 16 winners from 48 final nominations - Award ceremony to be held on 23rd December in Delhi - The award has received over 1 lakh entries - Enthusiastic participation received from Students, Parents, Colleagues alike
Tweet-- Guruvar Awards 2009 which will be held on the 23rd December in Delhi, announces the Grand Jury. This panel is responsible to choose 16 winners from 48 finalists that have been arrived at by the Jury at the Zone level. Nominations closed for 'Guruvar Awards' on 1st December, with over 1 lakh entries from across the country. Asserting the need of a platform to acknowledge the role of Teachers, the movement has received a wholehearted involvement across the nation from students, parents, colleagues and Principles alike.
The five members of the Grand Jury are Ralph Tabberer - Chief of Schools and COO, GEMS Education, Zenna Atkins - Chairman of OFSTED, Dr. Farooq Wasil - Director of Asian Schools, GEMS Education, Dr. Shyama Chona - Ex Principal of DPS, R.K.Puram, New Delhi, Ashok Kumar Ganguly - Additional State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, U.P. and Ex Chairman of CBSE.
The Strategic Advisory Panel includes Dino Varkey - Senior Director, Business Operations, GEMS Education, Malini Menon - Founder & CEO, Indian Expressions Management Consultancy, Ajey Kumar - Country Head, GEMS India and Sunita Menon - Life Coach and Communication Advisor to guide the course of the Awards.
Commenting on the role of the jury Sunny Varkey, Founder of Guruvar Awards 2009 said, "The remarkable response we received to this unique interactive format of expressing one's gratitude to Teachers and also shouldering accountability is indeed encouraging. The next stage is to reiterate the involvement of people by selecting the most deserving Gurus amongst those that the people themselves have chosen. I am sure arriving at the final 16 is not only a task of great responsibility but also of great difficulty. For this purpose we have the best mix of Jury, right from social entrepreneur, experienced educationist, to Padma Shree Awardee in the field of education. "
About the Grand Jury
Ashok Ganguly - Ex Chairman of CBSE
- Has been additional Director (Project) in the World Bank assisted Project 'Education for All' in primary education and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in Uttar Pradesh.
- Principal, Government Inter College, Talwari, Chamoli, Uttarakhand before May 2000.
Ralph Tabberer - Chief of Schools and COO, GEMS Education
- Former UK Director General for Schools advising on education policy for 22,000 schools with an annual education budget of £ 34 Billion
- One of the most experienced educationists in the world
Zenna Atkins - Social Entrepreneur
- She won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year South Region (2000).
- Executive Director for Social Solutions, a consultancy company, specializing in CSR and entrepreneurship.
- She is the Non Executive Director on the Royal Navy Fleet executive board and Audit Committee chair.
- Chairman of OFSTED, the children & learners inspection & regulation body
Dr. Shyama Chona - Former Principal of DPS, R.K.Puram, New Delhi
- Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan Awardee
- She serves as a member on 97 Advisory Committees and is a Trustee of the Nehru Bal Samiti and special Olympics
- She has set up 3 schools for the mentally challenged: 'Tamana', Nai Disha' and 'The school of Hope'
Dr. Farooq Wasil - Director of Asian Schools, GEMS India
- He was the Chairman of the CBSE Gulf Council (2002 - 2003)
- He has also been a part of the CBSE affiliation committee and an advisor of various institutions and a member of various CBSE committees.
- He was appointed as Member of the CBSE Committee for 'Promotion of CBSE Overseas".
- He was honored with the prestigious National Teacher Award awarded by the Ministry of Human Resources, receiving the award from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (2005).
- He has co-authored a series of books for Kindergarten and Primary school children.
Notes to Editor
About Varkey Gems Foundation:
Created by Padmashree Sunny Varkey, the Varkey Gems Foundation is a philanthropic trust. Meant for the upliftment of education of children the foundation promotes superior quality of teaching and strives to strengthen the teacher-student interface. The Guruvar Award 2009 programme is the first of a series of recognition and reward programmes by the Foundation. The Foundation is connected to a number of education related charitable initiatives such as the R&D of innovative educational programmes and models to enhance both the teaching and learning experience, financial support for deserving students, education for slum children and promotion of rural schools.