Lagos teacher wins African Union continental prize

A Teacher in Lagos State, Adeola Adefemi, has won this year’s African Union(AU) Continental Teacher Prize.

The announcement was made by the Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in charge of International Institute of Capacity Building in Africa, Wodon Quentin, in celebration of this year’s teachers’ day.

This came barely two weeks after two Lagos teachers were shortlisted among top 50 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize.

Adefemi, a multiple award winner, teaches English Language at Keke Senior High School, Agege, under the state’s Education District 1.

She won the Best Teacher Prize in Lagos State last year and was celebrated and rewarded by Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu, with a brand new SUV.

Again last year, she won the Presidential Best Teacher Prize in Nigeria and was given another SUV by the Federal Government.

Adefemi, who also won the 2020 Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Award, received an award plaque, a certificate of recognition and a cash prize of $10,000 for winning the award.

Only Olalekan Adeeko, a teacher in Ogun State, has so far won the AU Teacher Prize from Nigeria since it was instituted four years ago, and he won it in 2020.

The African Union Commission honoured a maximum of eight teachers, found exemplary in service delivery in the classrooms from the various regions of the continent yearly.

According to AU, the award is aimed at enhancing the visibility and status of teachers in Africa at all levels, promoting teaching as a respected profession, celebrating and encouraging outstanding teachers across the continent.

The union noted that the status of teachers in Africa is very important to achieving the Agenda 2063 vision of integration, peace, and prosperity on the continent.

The commission added that the award will not only serve as a means of demonstrating respect for teachers and the teaching profession, it will also raise their status and inspire the best candidates to join the teaching profession.