Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards
At the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (15CCEM) held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2003, ministers agreed to promote good practices in Commonwealth Education. They recommended that the 16CCEM should be the first occasion for the recognition of these good and promising practices in education.
Following discussion of the awards programme at each of the three regional Education Mid-Term reviews held in 2005, the Commonwealth Education Good Practice Awards (EGPA) was launched on 1 October 2005.
The purpose of the awards is to bring attention to educational issues and highlight good practices throughout the Commonwealth. The awards serve to identify and draw attention to good, promising or innovative educational practices that could be replicated in different Commonwealth contexts. It is also expected that the awards would acknowledge, encourage, motivate, inspire, reward and generate enthusiasm within the education sector.
An Education Good Practice is defined as a programme, project, policy, strategy or significant intervention, which has made a positive difference to the status or condition of primary or secondary school children, their teachers or the education system in a country, with respect to priority areas of the Education Section’s strategic plan. Submissions are judged based on a number of criteria as follows:
- Relevance
- Measurable Impact and Effect
- Sustainability
- Efficiency and Effectiveness
- Community Participation and Contribution
- Replication
Commonwealth Ministries of Education, educational institutions and civil society organisations, providing or promoting primary and secondary education, can submit Good Practices taking place in their country in one or more of the following eight Action Areas:
- achieving universal primary education;
- eliminating gender disparities in education;
- improving quality in education;
- mitigating the impact of HIV on education systems;
- supporting education in difficult circumstances;
- using distance learning to overcome barriers;
- using education to promote sustainable development e.g. climate change;
- and promoting civil paths to peace e.g. respect and understanding.