Gina Justus from Our Own English High School, Girls’ Branch in Sharjah, is named the regional winner for MENA for her outstanding mentorship and commitment to charity 

Dubai, Apr 24, 2024: The International Education group at Cambridge University Press & Assessment (Cambridge) has announced Gina Justus as the regional winner of the 2024 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards in MENA. Justus is the Head of English at Our Own English High School, Girls’ Branch, Sharjah. 

Justus has been named the regional winner in MENA for her outstanding mentorship and commitment to charity. The judges applauded Justus’ commitment to her department, for whom she regularly organises and conducts workshops to raise teaching standards.  

She is also involved in charity work with the NGO, Reach Worldwide, where she has sponsored five children who were deprived of education.  

As a regional winner, Justus will win Dhs2,285.50 worth of books for their class. 

Justus says, “I’ve always had a passion for teaching and to be recognised with this award is a great honour. In my 17-year career at Our Own English High School, I’ve really enjoyed exploring innovative strategies for teaching and learning. It’s incredibly important that all children have the opportunity to learn. I am very proud of the work that Reach Worldwide is doing to ensure those children deprived of education get the necessary access to nurture their curiosity.” 

The Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards is a global competition that celebrates the achievements of teachers around the world. Now in its sixth year, the competition highlights the important role that teachers play in shaping the lives of their learners and preparing them for the world. It gives students, parents and peers the chance to nominate a current primary or secondary teacher for outstanding commitment to their students’ education.  

The 2024Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards saw a record number of nominations from people wanting to thank a teacher. Cambridge received 14,840 nominations across 141 different countries, topping the previous record by more than 1,000 nominations. 

Rod Smith, Managing Director of International Education says, “We need 44 million teachers worldwide by 2030 if the world is to meet the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 of inclusive and equitable quality education.  For this to happen, at Cambridge we believe we should be celebrating the profession and highlighting the hard-working teachers currently instilling a love of learning, often in difficult environments. 

“We launched the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards to ensure we took the time to thank those preparing their students to be ready for the world, whether tackling challenging educational issues like climate change or breaking down cultural barriers. I wish to congratulate Gina for her immense accomplishments, which I’m sure will inspire teachers and learners across MENA.” 

The public can now vote for their favourite teacher out of the nine regional winners, to become the overall winner of Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards 2024. The deadline to vote is May 6, 2024, and the Global Winner will be announced on May 2024. 

To find out more about Cambridge and vote for your favourite teacher in the competition, visit dedicatedteacher.cambridge.org/vote