His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, honoured the winners of the 18th edition of the Sharjah Award for Excellence in Education at the annual award ceremony held at the University City Hall on Thursday. The Award seeks to promote quality of all elements of the educational process by recognising outstanding and excellent achievers, who strive for leadership and innovation in preparing generations that contribute to progress, strengthening national identity and community belonging. Among the 79 winners of this year’s edition of the nationwide competition’s 15 categories are the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, which is led by Shaikha Jawaher, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah; Mohammed Abdullah Ahmed Fares, former Undersecretary of the former Ministry of Education and Youth; Shehrezad Mohamemd Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ansari, social worker and volunteer; and the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec). In his remarks at the award ceremony, Minister of Education Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami lauded Shaikh Sultan, the sponsor of the Award, for his efforts to advance education and excellence in the UAE’s schools in line with the attention given to education by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Their Highnesses, the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates. Al Qattami stressed that the nation’s educational sector is being enriched by the experience and skills of winners who will act as role models for students. Receiving the award should serve as an incentive for more diligent work, he noted. Shaikhs, ministers and senior officials of the education sector attended the ceremony.