Queen Elizabeth II has awarded a chief schools officer of Gems Education, a leading provider of private education, with the Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB) at a ceremony held recently at Buckingham Palace, London.

Professor Ralph Tabberer, Gems chief school officer 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 UK.

In this role, Prof 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.

“We are privileged to have Prof Tabberer, an eminent educationalist, to head our schools and further establish the global outlook of our schools,” said Sunny Varkey, founder and chairman of Gems Education.

“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,” he added.

Prof Tabberer said: “The recognition by 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,” he continued.

“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.” – TradeArabia News Service