At last recognition comes for teachers

Although the roles of teachers in national development and orientation are so crucial that no nation can survive without them, yet government and stakeholders often neglect them, hence the popular clique that “teachers’ rewards are in heaven.”

However, in a bid to ensure that teachers are rewarded on earth, the Nigerian Breweries Plc, producers of Maltina, a non alcoholic drink, has, through its Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund, rolled out a new initiative aimed at not only celebrating teachers but rewarding them for their innovative spirit, diligence and hard work.

The initiative tagged: “Maltina Teacher of the Year,” the Corporate Affairs Adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, said is designed to recognize, celebrate and motivate teachers in Nigeria with a first year focus on public secondary schools.

Addressing the media during the flag of the initiative in Lagos last week, Ekanem said everywhere in the world, teachers play a vital role in training, coaching and determining the quality of education and this is critical to sustainable national development. These moulders of the society, he regretted, seldom get the recognition they deserve.

According to him, the project was a step further to the Trust Fund’s work, which has impacted over 20,00 students across Nigeria since its establishment in 1994 with a seed capital of N100 million. Through the Trust Fund, over 250 classrooms and 22 libraries, he said, have been built in both primary and secondary schools across 40 communities in Nigeria, while it has also renovated and donated equipment to tertiary institutions.