The Federal Ministry of Education has urged secondary school teachers across the country to advance their career development prospect by participating in the Maltina Teacher of the Year Project.
MacJohn Nwaobiala, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education while speaking during the visit of Nigerian Breweries Plc. management team to the Ministry in Abuja said the programme aligns perfectly with the ministry vision to bring back the glory days when teaching was a respectable profession and people took pride in teaching.
Nwaobiala pledged the Ministry’s support to ensure the success of the programme. He called on teachers nationwide to take advantage of the Maltina Teacher of Year to improve their career development and teaching practice in general.
He commend Nigerian Breweries Plc for introducing Maltina Teacher of Year, a reward programme that seeks to recognise, reward and train Nigerian teachers. It is our hope that this effort by Nigerian Breweries will encourage other corporate organisations to identify and support the Ministry’s programmes geared towards development of the education sector in Nigeria,” he said.
The Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year, launched in May, is set to splash over N50 million on Nigerian teachers. The winner of the coveted award will get one million naira cash upon his/her emergence at the finals while one million naira to be paid into his/her account annually in the next five years. The Teacher of the Year will also be sent abroad for training by the company. The 1st runner-up will take home one million naira, while the second runner-up gets seven hundred and fifty thousand naira. Winners from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT will be given five hundred thousand naira each. The school that produces the national winner will also become a beneficiary of infrastructural development projects.
The award initiated by Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund, is aimed at restoring the pride of teachers and the dignity of the teaching profession. The award has generated an unprecedented interest from teachers across the country. Reports from collation centres across the country indicate that hundreds of secondary school teachers are enthusiastically submitting entries for the coveted award.
According to Emete Tonukari, the CSR/Sustainability Manager of Nigerian Breweries Plc. all applications will be subjected to intense selection and judging process by an external and independent panel of judges which has been constituted to ensure transparency, credibility and objectivity of the exercise. The 5-step evaluation process of the entries received, she noted, will result in 36 states and FCT champions, from among which the Maltina Teacher- of- the- Year will emerge.
