Want to celebrate the teachers who have profoundly impacted your life? Show your appreciation by nominating your most cherished educators for the RISE Educator Award by Taylor’s College!

Back for its fourth year, the RISE Educator Award, short for Remarkable Impact in Student Education, is part of Taylor’s College’s mission to honour the nation’s educators who have played a pivotal role in helping students gain quality and equitable education. According to Josephine Tan, Campus Director of Taylor’s College, it is Taylor’s College’s goal to “empower teachers to further their mission, creating a ripple effect of positive change in classrooms and communities.”

The recipient of the RISE Educator Award 2024 will walk away with a sponsorship of RM20,000 for their school and RM5,000 for themselves, while the nominator will take home RM500 in cash prize. Four other finalists will also each receive RM10,000 sponsorship for their schools and receive RM1,000 cash prize, while the nominator will receive RM250. 

Interested? Keep on reading to learn more.

What you need to know

To be eligible for the award, an educator must be nominated by the public through a 100-word story submission describing the impact and difference made in the lives of their students. You can nominate a teacher from any national, private and international pre, primary and secondary school.

Only 10 educators will be shortlisted for the first round of evaluation where they will be posted on Taylor’s College social media platforms for a public vote. The 5 teachers with the most votes will proceed to the next round where their stories will be evaluated by a panel of judges which include Chan Soon Seng, who leads Teach For Malaysia, and Cikgu Kumaresan Muniandy, the recipient of RISE Educator of the Year 2023. The final decision will come from the public vote (25%) and the judges’ evaluation (75%).

Previous recipients of the award have used their sponsorship to further improve their schools. Cikgu Kumaresan Muniandy (RISE Educator of the Year 2023) used the sponsorship to revitalise his school's Mock House Training Centre and enhanced Projek School Enterprise Kedai Dobi OKU. Cikgu Velerie Wheelervon Primus (RISE Educator Award 2023), meanwhile, had used his sponsorship to spearhead the development of SK Bingkor’s ‘Integrated Sensory Therapy Room and Snoezelen Project’ for special needs students with autism and ADHD.

Where would we be without our teachers?

Begin submitting your nomination from now until 17 April 2024! The 10 shortlisted stories will be announced on 22 April 2024 where they will be put up on Taylor’s social media platforms for a public voting. 

Find out more about RISE Educator Award and nominate an educator here!