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HONG KONG,Sept.28,2021/PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

Professor Eric A. Hanushek and Dr Rukmini Banerji have been awarded the 2021

Yidan Prize, the world's highest education accolade, in recognition of their

ground-breaking work addressing a crucial piece of the education puzzle:

improving quality of education and outcomes for learners at scale.

Following a rigorous judging process, conducted by an independent judging

committee of recognized education experts, Professor Eric A. Hanushek and Dr

Rukmini Banerji were selected as the recipients of the 2021 Yidan Prize for

Education Research and Yidan Prize for Education Development. They will join

nine laureates who have been awarded the Yidan Prize since its inception in

2016, established by the Yidan Prize Foundation - a global philanthropic

education foundation that inspires progress and change in education.

Supporting 2021 laureates to improve teaching quality and learning outcomes

Professor Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution

of Stanford University, is awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Research.

His work focuses on education outcomes and the importance of teaching quality

and has transformed both research and policy internationally. His work helped

shape the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4 (ensure inclusive and

equitable quality education) by reframing targets for learning outcomes and has

shown that it's how much students learn – and not how many years they spend in

school – that boosts economies.  

With the Yidan Prize funding, Professor Hanushek is planning a research fellow

program in Africa, supporting analytical capacity to shape education.

Dr Rukmini Banerji, Chief Executive Officer of the Pratham Education

Foundation(https://www.pratham.org/), is awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize for

Education Development for her work in improving learning outcomes. The Annual

Status of Education Report (ASER) assessment approach, pioneered by Dr Banerji

and her team, revealed literacy and numeracy gaps among children who had

already spent several years at school. To close these gaps, her team's

"Teaching at the Right Level" (TaRL) program works with schools and local

communities to provide basic reading and arithmetic skills, ensuring no

children are left behind. This systematic, replicable model reaches millions of

children in India annually and is spreading around the globe.

With the support of the Yidan Prize, Dr Banerji plans to strengthen and expand

Pratham's work with young children so that strong foundations can be built

early in a child's life. She believes this will contribute significantly

towards the goal of seeing "every child in school and learning well".

Each laureate will be awarded HK$30 million (approximately US$3.9 million),

half of which is a project fund – enabling a series of innovative and

progressive education projects to scale up and support millions of learners

globally. Together, the laureates' projects are helping make the world a better

place through education.

All laureates(https://bit.ly/39u315L) will join the Yidan Council of

Luminaries(https://bit.ly/39sk602) members to work collaboratively and speak

with a collective voice - to shed light on the importance of restoring and

rethinking education with innovative ideas.

2022 Yidan Prize nominations open on 19 October  

Nominations for the 2022 Yidan Prize will be open from 19 October 2021 until

March 2022.

About the Yidan Prize Foundation and Yidan Prize

The Yidan Prize Foundation is a global philanthropic foundation, with a mission

of creating a better world through education. Through its network of

innovators, the foundation supports ideas and practices in

education—specifically, ones with the power to positively change lives and

society.

The Yidan Prize is an inclusive education accolade that recognizes individuals

or teams who have contributed significantly to education.

https://yidanprize.org

SOURCE: Yidan Prize Foundation

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=402272

   Caption: Dr Rukmini Banerji is awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize for Education Development,

and Professor Eric A. Hanushek is awarded the 2021 Yidan Prize for Education

Research.

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=402273

   Caption: The independent Yidan Prize Judging Committee comprises internationally

recognized education experts.