Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awards Professor Ralph Tabberer at Buckingham Palace ceremony
Medal for contribution to education over three decades
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Professor Ralph Tabberer, Chief Schools Officer, GEMS Education, with the Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB) at an investiture ceremony held today (May 28, 2009) at Buckingham Palace, London.
Prof. Tabberer received the medal in recognition of his distinguished contribution to education over 30 years and, in particular, in appreciation of his service as Director General, Schools in the U.K. In this role, Professor Tabberer had oversight of the 22,000 schools in the English state system and, on behalf of the UK Government, also regulated English private school provision. Now, he brings his wealth of experience in school management to GEMS Education’s international network.
Congratulating Prof. Tabberer on the honour, Mr Sunny Varkey, Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education, said: “We are privileged to have Prof. Tabberer, an eminent educationalist, to head our schools and further establish the global outlook of our schools. The Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a fitting tribute to the exemplary work Prof. Tabberer has undertaken in the education sector over many years.”
Prof. Tabberer said: “The recognition by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II adds to the sense of responsibility that I have towards taking even bolder and ambitious educational strategies. GEMS Education, as the largest private sector network of schools, offers the perfect platform to implement GEMS vision of creating schools of excellence.”
“Creating ‘schools of excellence’ can only be achieved by working with families and their communities to improve education standards in countries around the world. We will achieve this by hiring and nurturing high quality teachers and by never losing sight of the importance of making our investment in each community a long-term and sustainable venture.”
“I am really excited at the prospect of developing excellent schools across the world. I am also looking forward to working with governments through the GEMS Schools Improvement Partnership (SIP) to raise standards of state schools.”
The Order of the Bath was established in 1725. It is a high-ranking and prestigious honour, and the principal means of recognising general civil merit as well as service by the armed forces on behalf of the Crown. The honour bestows on its owner several special rights including the right for his daughters to be married in Westminster Abbey.
Prof. Tabberer is well known for his passionate approach to education and his radical outlook as a UK educator. Before taking over as England’s chief government adviser on policy affecting all 22,000 state-run schools, he led a raft of reforms in teacher supply and training that plucked schools out of a teacher recruitment crisis, which had been threatening the quality of education in many classrooms.
GEMS Education is already the world’s largest single provider of private education. Currently, it has nearly 100 schools in nine countries and has a significant market share in the UAE. GEMS is highly regarded for the quality of its education, and its students consistently outperform counterparts in their home countries.
