Lagos flags off 2020 Teachers Merit Award; entry portal opens Monday
The Lagos State Lagos, through its Ministry of Education, has flagged off the Year 2020 Teachers’ Merit Award for outstanding teachers with excellent performance in the state.
Mrs. Folasade Adefisayo, the Honourable Commissioner for Education, said the award is meant to celebrate outstanding teachers for their contributions to the society and work towards the broader perspective of adding value to the education sector.
Speaking at the ceremony held in Lagos on Wednesday, Mrs. Adefisayo said there is the need to celebrate teachers because of their uniqueness in the society.
“There is no one that has not being taught by a teacher, no matter where you rise to. They are proud of their products because they are greater than they are. Everybody was taught by a teacher at one point or the other and so we should celebrate them, we should not take them for granted,” she said,
According to the Commissioner, this forms the tenet of the Teachers’ Merit Award, adding “we are determined to make teacher a great profession and we are doing everything possible to uphold the standard of teaching profession and not just for somebody that cannot find a job.
“If you teach children, you will respect teachers. It is not easy to do that. We must respect teachers at all levels. It takes a lot of skills, passion and love for the profession. We are very happy we are going to reward them,” she added.
Meanwhile, Monday, December 21, 2020 has been set for the opening of portal for submission of entries by interested teachers across the state.
The Commissioner also inaugurated the committee for the award , led by Mrs Lai Koiki, CEO Greensprings.
The committee also has members Mrs Olufunke Fowler-Amba, Administrator, Vivian Fowler; Yinka Ogunde, CEO Edumark Consult; Oyin Egbeyemi, Director, Foreshore Schools; and Abi Obasanya, Director Arch-lights Foundation.
Others are Mrs. Sherifat Ogboye, Director of Education (rtd); and Mr Adetutu representing ECOBANK. Members of the Committee are all drawn from the private sector to make the selection transparent, the Commissioner said.
In her remarks, Chairman of the Committee and Chief Executive Officer of Greensprings Schools, Lagos, Mrs. Lai Koiki ,said education is the bedrock of development of any society and it is in recognition of this that these awards find a place in the prime educational transformation agenda of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu administration.
“These awards bear in mind the universal call to action through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the THEMES agenda developed by the Lagos State Government.”
Saying this year’s edition is very special because of the peculiarities of the global challenges caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, Mrs. Koiki said the onset of the pandemic challenged the can-do spirit, resilience and creativity of all our teachers and leaders as they all tried to minimize the learning loss in their students.
