This year, the Teach for Nigeria Fellows went through a five-week hybrid Training Institute which kicked off virtually on the 31st of July 2022.

https://techeconomy.ng/2022/06/teach-for-nigeria-partners-with-dow-to-boost-stem-education-in-nigeria/

A two-week residential training at Greensprings School, Lekki Campus, Lagos, followed running from 1st August – 16th August 2022.

The Teach For Nigeria Fellowship is a leadership development program that equips Fellows with teaching and leadership skills to effect change in their classrooms and beyond.

Every year, Teach For Nigeria recruits promising graduates, engages them through an intensive Pre-Service Training Institute, and then places them in under-served schools where they make a remarkable impact and contribute immensely to changing the trajectory of their learners.

The guest speaker at the event, Director,  Enterprise Development Center of the Pan Atlantic University Dr. Peter Bankole, reminded the Fellows that they were on a mission. “When you do what you do with your whole heart, and you can do it for free and you’re still happy, that is not work, that’s a mission,” he said. In addition, Dr. Peter stated that the Fellows were the agents of change who would drive the needed change in the educational sector.

Blessing Adeyemi, one of the Fellows, delivered a valedictory speech on behalf of the Fellows. In her remarks she noted “We have not just been taught the art of teaching, but there’s been a transference of the heart of collective leadership to a shared vision.

The Fellows were inducted formally into the Fellowship through a commitment pledge/oath led by Folawe Omikunle, the CEO of Teach For Nigeria.

She encouraged Fellows to fully honour this promise that they have made to that one Nigerian child as they enter the classrooms.

Present at the event was the Executive Chairman, Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, who was represented by the Board Secretary, SUBEB, Mr. Wasiu Kuye.

Folashade Adefisayo, the Commissioner of Education, Lagos State, represented by Dr Olufunke Oyetola, Tutor General/Permanent Secretary (TGPS), Education District 3 was also in attendance.

In her goodwill message, the The Honourable Commissioner of Education, Lagos State, Folashade Adefisayo, represented by Dr Olufunke Oyetola, Tutor General/Permanent Secretary (TGPS), Education District 3 charged the Fellows to be change agents. “As you go out today, I want to encourage you to be good ambassadors, be an agent of change because education will take Nigeria to a greater level” She said.

“You have come, you have seen and you have reconquered. Effecting change, requires time and lasting efforts. You are set for a new journey, new experience, in a new environment which will inform a major part of your decision in life now and beyond the fellowship”. This was the goodwill  message from the Executive Chairman, Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Femi Majekodunmi, represented by the Board Secretary, SUBEB, Mr. Wasiu Kuye.

This project is aimed at equipping and inspiring a ready workforce by preparing the next generation of disruptors and cultivating a mindset that fosters innovation.

Teach for Nigeria has been successful in differentiating itself from similar organizations, through an understanding of the need for key partnerships.

Through this partnership, Dow will collaborate with Teach for Nigeria to sponsor STEM teacher recruitment, professional development, and placement in underserved Lagos schools.

Nine Teach for Nigeria fellows, nine schools and at least 3,600 students in Lagos, Nigeria will be directly impacted by the project.

Adebisi Adeoti, Country Manager, Dow Nigeria said, “One of the goals of this partnership is to develop students into leaders who are creative, collaborative, and inclusive, as well as equipped for future STEM employment. To be successful, we have to start with the teaching community by providing the right training, tools and resources”.

Speaking about the partnership, Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach for Nigeria said, “We are thrilled to have Dow join our national effort for educational and social equity. This important partnership will give the students we serve a chance to learn the STEM skills they will need to solve the challenges of the future, as well as improve their daily lives”.

Thus far, Teach For Nigeria has recruited, trained and placed these nine fellows in underserved schools in low-income communities in Lagos state.

These fellows will be provided with continuous support to be able to play their role as STEM teachers while continuously improving the learning outcomes of children in low-income communities.

They will go on to continue making a lasting impact in the communities they serve while inspiring and preparing our students for future work in STEM.

Since 2017, the organization has been focused on providing quality education to all children regardless of their backgrounds.

To commemorate this year’s International Day of Education, Teach For Nigeria organised a week-long stakeholder’s engagement to sensitise stakeholders on their role in transforming the foundational education system.

These meetings also provided the opportunity to deepen relationships with critical stakeholders and secure partnerships towards achieving educational equity.

The engagement concluded with a closing ceremony in Ogun State and had in attendance school leaders from public schools, government officials, parents, religious leaders, Teach For Nigeria fellows and students.

In a keynote speech, Folawe Omikunle, the CEO, Teach For Nigeria, reiterated the organization’s commitment to attaining an excellent education for all children in Nigeria. She said that transforming education in service to all children regardless of their economic status requires an urgent need to work more collaboratively with stakeholders to achieve a transformed and equitable education for all children. She noted that while progress had been made there is still room to improve the situation for millions of children who had limited or no access to quality education.

Also speaking at the event, Professor Abayomi Arigbabu, the commissioner of education in Ogun State, represented by Mrs. Ronke Soyombo, the special adviser to the governor on primary and secondary education, said “The fellowship programme of Teach for Nigeria has attracted numerous achievements in the state’s education that cannot be undervalued.  The active participation of the Fellows in Ogun Digi class, a digital class on TV for students, added colours to the State government initiative. She praised the organization for the continuous training and retraining capacity of Fellows’ development since 2017. She ended her speech by encouraging the Fellows to keep up with the spirit of leading and impacting.”

Mr. Olu-Ola Aikulola, permanent secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, also commented on how Teach For Nigeria is raising a crop of young leaders who are gifts to under-served communities in Ogun State. While recounting the numerous achievements some of the Fellows are making through their schools and community, he urged the zonal education officers, SUBEB field officials and teachers to continue to work in a deeper partnership with the Fellows and Alumni of Teach For Nigeria.

Charles Bernard, a 2020 Teach For Nigeria Fellow, recounted his experience to highlight the importance of partnership. Charles noted that at the school he was posted to serve, only 5% of his pupils at a public primary school in Ilaro could read.

Working with Ifeoluwa Olubodun, another fellow, they introduced a literacy drill program to improve the reading and writing skills for affected children and now, the initial reading and writing skills has grown to 62%.

He also discovered that some children had eye problems which led to a partnership with an optical firm to provide eye-care intervention to more than 200 pupils and aged members in the community.

Highlighting education as the bedrock of every nation, Folawe noted that accelerating impact for a transformed education system that will serve all children equitably would require more dynamic leaders like Bernard.

Leaders working in deep partnership with students, teachers, parents and community members will drive positive learning outcomes for children and provide opportunities to help them fulfil their potential.

Folawe sought Ogun state’s support to deepen its partnership with Teach for Nigeria to place fellows in under-resourced schools.

This year’s International Day of Education, which marked the fourth since it was proclaimed in 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), highlighted the need for a new way forward in transforming the education sector.