As the saying goes, “Teachers taught them all.” Every 5th October, the world celebrates teachers for their outstanding roles in shaping the futures and careers of other professions.
This recognises the important roles teachers play in the education and development of young ones, which are the backbone of future development.
In line with 2021 World Teachers’ Day, which has the theme, “Teachers at the heart of education recovery,” Vera James GC Limited, an indigenous company, honoured teachers for their tireless efforts and to have kept teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic that has lasted for almost 2 years, in a special occasion tagged “Influential Teacher Season 2 Award.”
Speaking before the commencement of the award presentation on Saturday, 9th October 2021, Dr Vera James, CEO, Vera James GC Limit, said the company instituted the award to honour outstanding teachers every academic year.
“The depth of investment put to work by teachers to raise generations of all other professions should not be overlooked,” said James.
She added that it was the passion to recognise the plights and efforts of teachers that gave rise to the birth of the “Influential Teachers Award” last year, the event which has now become an annual event.
According to her, Nigeria is one of the countries where teachers are not properly remunerated and cared for.
James noted that even though the lock down due to COVID-19 affected educational institutions, which had a ripple effect on teachers, with resilience and passion, they remained focus on the educational and psychological needs of the children even when some received salaries that could barely cover their cost of data and feeding.
She recalled that most teachers continued to engage their students online during the lockdown and continued physical classroom teaching when schools resumed.
During the occasion, the top three teachers were presented with certificates of excellence and rewarded with N50,000, N25,000 and N15,000 for the first, second and third positions, respectively. Motivation prizes were given to all other contestants.
Explaining the selection process, Dele-Abraham, the chief judge, said that this year’s entry ran from Monday, 20 September 2021 to Thursday, 30 September 2021, which was done on social media by requesting contesting teachers to showcase their classroom teaching skills in a-2-minute video and then upload the same to the designated social media handles.
He further explained that the public were invited to review the videos and vote for the participants. The top 10 participants were then moved to the panel of judges who shared rubrics with everyone who followed the company’s social media handles. Decision was taken after thorough scrutiny to select the top three winners.
James charged the government at all levels, corporate organisations and individuals to sincerely support teachers’ welfare so that the teaching profession be accorded the esteem that befits it.
“It is hoped that this competition gathers momentum over the next years. For this to happen and for more teachers to be appreciated for what they do for humanity supports from corporate bodies, individuals and SMEs will be a welcomed development,” she prayed.
