TFN Rewards Outstanding Fellows

By Omolabake Fasogbon

Teach for Nigeria, a non-profit organisation has rewarded outstanding brains at the graduation ceremony of its third cohorts that held virtually recently.

The new set of graduates, numbering 44, were deployed to underserved schools in Ogun State communities to extend quality education opportunity to 29 public primary schools in the state. The exercise was in line with the goal of the organisation to bridge inequity gap Nigeria, consequently social and economic development.

Former Federal Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, emphasized the role of quality tutors to economic growth and nation development.

She said,”The quality of teachers is important because with quality teachers in the classroom, students are able to achieve foundational literacy and numeracy. TFN has designed that solution and tested it by selecting the best graduates and absorbing them into the education sector, giving them the opportunity to be impactful in the classrooms.

She charged the new fellows who were inducted in 2017 to utilise the knowledge they have acquired gainfully as they proceed to the labour market and contribute meaningfully to societal growth.

“Leaving the fellowship does not mean leaving everything you have gained but entails scaling all the skills gained in leadership, collaboration, core values, and mindsets. It includes translating your learnings to shape the 21st century economy. You are a resource, so don’t undersell yourselves and remain purposeful. The world waits for you”.

In her remark, Chief Executive Officer of Teach for Nigeria, Folawe Omikunle said, “The efforts and successes of our graduating cohort has made it evident that indeed a movement of exceptional leaders can change the narrative in Nigeria. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, our fellows remained resilient, adapting solutions to improve learning outcomes in underserved communities”.

Also speaking, Board Chairman of TFN, Gbenga Oyebode commended the performance and commitment of the new fellows and urged them to create impactful change in the society.

One of the graduating fellows, Olalekan Abiola who founded ‘Creative Kids Art Club’ won the ‘ outstanding Be The Change Award’ sponsored by a retired educator, Dr Bosede Hephzibah Akinsanmi, and awarded a cash prize of ₦350,0000.

Other projects executed by the fellows such as Smart garden initiative, Alpha Cyry and First Step Initiative were also awarded cash prize of N650,000.