Shortfall in the number of qualified teaching manpower in basic level of education in Nigeria and the aftermath effect of poorly trained future generation may have forced private sector organisations to commit investment in human capacity to stem this tide. BusinessDay findings have revealed.
With the nation’s out-of -school children rate still on the high with an estimated 13.5 million and a shortage of qualified teachers especially on the basic levels, educationists see this involvement as a welcome development.
Private sector organisations like Teach For Nigeria, a non-profit organisation under its Teach For Nigeria Fellowship programme have in the last two years enlisted Nigeria’s most promising future leaders to expand educational and life opportunities for all children in Nigeria.
The Fellowship programme is a 2 year full-time paid commitment that is designed to build a movement of leaders who will work towards eliminating educational inequity in Nigeria by teaching in underserved schools in low-income communities across Nigeria.
Folawe Omikunle, chief executive officer, Teach For Nigeria says the efforts and successes recorded by 44 exceptional change agents in the last two years have improved learning outcomes and ignited the love of learning in their pupils and have in turn expanded the life opportunities for their pupils.
Omikunle while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the 44 Fellows in Lagos says they were inducted in 2017 and deployed to 25 public primary schools in Lagos and Ogun states impacting approximately, 2700 students.
She observed that their successes over these years has made it evident that indeed a movement of transformational leaders can change the narrative, adding that the pioneer cohort of teachers have worked in some of the most challenging circumstances to build a different social fabric with hope, conviction, but above all, with actions to change our country one classroom at a time.
“For Nigeria alumni have the requisite qualification to continue an impactful career in education, post-Fellowship. Teach For Nigeria’s long-term goal is to be present in all 6 geo-political regions of Nigeria within a decade (by 2027), impacting over 500,000 children”, Omikunle said.
Bamidele Abiodun, wife of the Ogun State Governor, said “The Ogun State government is committed to supporting the vision of Teach for Nigeria as education is one of the core missions of our administration. I have experienced first-hand the excellent work the Teach for Nigeria fellows are doing in Ogun state and I am very impressed by the impact and the confidence they are instilling in these children”.
Gbenga Oyebode, board chairman, Teach For Nigeria in his address at the event opines that educational injustice is one of Nigeria’s most critical and deeply rooted crises.
According to Oyebode, “Nigeria with a growing rate of out-of-school children needs to adopt a multipronged approach and commitment from individuals and organisations to solve the problem. As a nation, we should see education as one of the ways to change the country”.
“These 44 exceptional Fellows have been transformed into leaders and champions for education in Nigeria; dedicating their time, energy and resources into impacting the lives of their pupils. We are very proud of the pioneer Cohort; they have made the Teach For Nigeria vision – that one day, every Nigerian child will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education – a reality,” Oyebode added.
