T4 Education, a London-based digital platform providing engaging tools, initiatives, and events to educators and schools worldwide, has launched The World’s Best School Prizes to celebrate schools, their contributions to societal progress, and their frontliner role during the COVID-19 pandemic in the absence of systems planning or a wider leadership amid crisis.
Recognizing #StrongSchools or those that shape the future through achievements and creating ripples in their communities, The World’s Best School is divided into five categories: Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives. Entries are judged based on a set of criteria for each prize category, along with a school self-assessment built into the application process.
The prize is open to early childhood centers, kindergarten, primary, secondary, and virtual schools, or all schools that teach students in compulsory schooling and are legally registered with the education ministry or government regulatory authority in their country.
Winning entries will have a share of the $250,000 prize award.
“There’s widespread agreement to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), one of which is education. Alarmingly, pre-pandemic, it was reported that progress has slowed significantly. To compound matters further, once we add the effects of the pandemic-related school closures to the unprecedented challenges, we realize the need to act urgently and think differently,” said Vikas Pota, founder of T4 Education.
Pota, however, applauded the leadership role that schools took in the face of pandemic difficulties and pressures.
“It’s time to trust them to lead the reform of education systems by the power of their own example, from an alternative path to systemic reform that is bottom-up. In doing so, we make a decision to take a grassroots approach to education reform,” he said.
Pota, who previously launched the Global Teacher Prize and presented at UN platforms, the G20, and several government bodies, said The World’s Best School Prizes fills a notable gap, particularly with growing evidence of the use of prizes to spur innovation and change across various fields. “There’s yet to be a notable worldwide prize celebrating all schools,” he added.
Schools that are shortlisted and recognized as Top 10 finalists will be asked to provide evidence of the impact of their expertise in the lives of students and the wider community.
Learn more about The World’s Best School Prizes on its official website.
