TFN graduates 4th cohort of fellows, expands learning outcomes in rural communities
Teach For Nigeria (TFN), a non-profit organisation committed to improving foundational learning outcomes and life opportunities for low-income children in the country, recently graduated its fourth cohort of fellows.
The graduating class comprised 385 fellows who served in 279 schools across Lagos and Ogun States, reaching over 77,000 students in underserved communities.
The graduation ceremony, which held in Abeokuta, had industry experts, partners, alumni and stakeholders, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo and representatives of Commissioners for Education in Lagos and Ogun states in attendance.
Over 300 changemakers will join the TFN alumni network and continue to build on their initiatives to expand educational outcomes for children in underserved schools.
Obasanjo, in his remarks, emphasised the importance of providing educational opportunities for people to maximise their innate potentials.
According to him, there is nothing more frustrating than having the capacity and no opportunities. “Education for children, youths and adults should be limitless. There is no one who is born without an element of innate capacity, which has to be developed, and if the person does not go to school, the development of that innate capacity will be hindered,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer, TFN, Folawe Omikunle, said: “This cohort is the largest and most diverse cohort at Teach For Nigeria fellows and they made a tremendous impact in their schools and communities. We recorded significant gains in academic and non-academic outcomes in the schools, impacting over 70,000 pupils, even as the world experienced learning losses. It is a big feat for the graduating fellows, as not everyone who started with the cohort made it through. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, 385 out of the 417 appointed fellows chose to stay through and in the space of two years, have left an indelible impact on their communities.”
In his commencement speech, CEO of Sterling Bank, Abubakar Suleiman, enjoined the graduating fellows to keep up with the good works.
“You might have started small, I need you to think big in your next phase. Do not think that your job is done. Imagine that the world is waiting to support your dreams. You must step out and continue your journey. Think of how you will inspire and encourage others by sharing your stories with them. No matter how big your dreams are, remember that there are people who will support you,” Suleiman said.
While speaking on behalf of the chairman of the board, Ayida-Otobo said TFN is a platform on which greatness stands and from which greatness impacts the community.
“I have seen so many alumni of TFN doing amazing things. The first cohort in 2017 graduated 44 Fellows, but today, we are graduating 385 Fellows. Teach for Nigeria is an incubator that prepares its fellows for greatness. When you leave, you leave as a force for a change. Together, all of us are changing the narrative of education inequity and raising a generation of new primary school students,” Ayida-Otobo said.
Omotoyosi Idris, a graduating fellow, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to pass through the Fellowship.
Idris said: “I can’t tell my success story and journey without mentioning my experience at Teach For Nigeria. It changed my perspective about our society and made me realise that I was the change.”
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