UAE awards Nablus school $1m

A high school in Nablus yesterday won an award for having the best reading initiative in the Arab world, earning itself a $1 million cash prize.

Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, presented Talai Al-Amal high school the awarded in Dubai.

Seven-year-old Algerian Mohamed Jalloud won the first place in the reading competition. He was chosen from among 610,000 students who took part.

The announcements were made at the closing ceremony of the Arab Reading Challenge, launched by Al-Maktoum in 2015. The ceremony took place at the Dubai Opera House.

Palestinian Minister of Education Sabri Saidam attended the ceremony along with a delegation representing Talai Al-Amal.

“The ongoing successes of Palestine will not cease, and the Ministry of Education, together with all Palestinians, are proud of this accomplishment,” Saidam said.

Al-Maktoum said: “The Arabic Reading Challenge exposed the persistence and ambition of Arab students. We did not crown only 18 winners today, but 3.5 million students.”