The Sidi Ameur primary school, located in the Siliana governorate, Tunisia, has won the "best school" award at the 10th Arab Reading Challenge held in Dubai on October 29, 2026. The school received a prize of one million Emirati dirhams, approximately 819,000 Tunisian dinars. This achievement is a significant milestone for the public school situated in a rural area. The school, under the Siliana-Sud delegation, outperformed other schools in the distinguished category, including Egypt's Al Martyr Mahmoud Al Maghrabi primary school and Kuwait's Al Yarmouk high school.
The Arab Reading Challenge, launched in 2015, encourages students to read 50 books in Arabic during the academic year and summarize their content in reading notebooks. The award for the best school considers several criteria, including the number of students involved, their reading progress, organized activities, and the school's ability to engage teachers, families, and the local community. The winning school's projects to be funded by the prize have not been specified yet. This victory comes three months after the school's success in Tunisia, where it was crowned the best school during national selections that gathered 232,865 students from 3,481 institutions.
The Siliana governorate had another success in July, with Mounir Friji being awarded the best supervisor nationally. The 10th edition of the Arab Reading Challenge saw participation from over 40.28 million students from 60 countries, representing 138,426 schools. The schools go through national selections before participating in the international finals. Sidi Ameur primary school's achievement is a testament to its dedication to promoting reading and educational activities.
Another Tunisian student, Rawan Achbouli, won the third place in the category for students with disabilities at the October 29 ceremony. Achbouli, a ninth-grade student at the preparatory school on Bourguiba Avenue in Bizerte, received a prize of 50,000 dirhams, approximately 41,000 Tunisian dinars. She had previously won the first Tunisian place in her category during the July national selections.
The individual title of the Arab Reading Challenge champion went to Egyptian Mayar Othman this year. Tunisia concluded the 10th edition with two international distinctions: the best school award for Sidi Ameur and Achbouli's third-place win in her category. The prizes aim to support the schools' and students' initiatives and activities.
The Sidi Ameur primary school's win demonstrates its ability to compete with schools from other countries and excel in international academic competitions. The school's success is an inspiration to other educational institutions, particularly those in rural areas. The Arab Reading Challenge continues to promote a culture of reading and learning among students across the Arab world.
The Tunisian Ministry of Education and the country's educational institutions have been working to improve the quality of education and encourage students to develop a love for reading. The success of Sidi Ameur primary school and Rawan Achbouli is a reflection of these efforts and the potential for Tunisian students to excel globally.
Key points
- The Sidi Ameur primary school won the "best school" award at the 10th Arab Reading Challenge, receiving a prize of one million Emirati dirhams.
- The school outperformed other schools in the distinguished category, including Egypt's Al Martyr Mahmoud Al Maghrabi primary school and Kuwait's Al Yarmouk high school.
- Another Tunisian student, Rawan Achbouli, won the third place in the category for students with disabilities at the same ceremony.
