Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reiterated his administration’s commitment to providing unparalleled investments, funding and infrastructure to enhance education.
He said the government is working with TeachForNigeria to build a sustainable five-year programme to domesticate the initiative in Lagos State as the TeachForLagos project.
The governor spoke at the ‘TeachForNigeria: A Day with Mr. Governor’ event, held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja. The event formed part of activities to mark the International Day of Education, themed ‘Learning for Lasting Peace’.
According to Sanwo-Olu, his administration has, since 2020, recruited 275 Fellows through the Teach For Nigeria initiative to ensure that no child is left behind.
He praised Fellows of TeachForNigeria for their commitment and contributions to the successes recorded locally and internationally in the education sector.
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Chief Executive Officer of TeachForNigeria, Folawe Omikunle, noted that in the next 10 years, the initiative is expected to impact one million children across the country.
She said: “This occasion is not merely a celebration; it is a reflection of the transformative journey that we have collectively taken to address educational challenges in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State. In 2020, we partnered the government to recruit 200 Fellows through a pilot programme. Between 2021 and 2022, 21 and 60 additional Fellows were recruited and placed in selected schools.
“Since this partnership in 2020, we have seen significant year-on-year academic learning gains across all classrooms where our fellows have been placed.
The impact of our Fellows is not just visible in numbers, it is transformative.
“In the 2021/2022 school year alone, we witnessed remarkable progress in secondary school classrooms. Mathematics proficiency increased from 46 61 per cent, English proficiency from 53 to 68 per cent, and Basic Science proficiency skyrocketed from 26 to an impressive 82 per cent. These achievements stand as a testament to the unwavering dedication and effectiveness of our Fellows.
“As we reflect and celebrate the International Day of Education, I come before you with a sense of accomplishment but also with a commitment to doing more. Looking ahead, we envision an ambitious and even more impactful future, to have built a network of over 20,000 leaders across all geopolitical zones in Nigeria in partnership with local communities to impact at least one million students each year, in Nigeria.
“We don’t see this vision without the Lagos State government, and our hope is to ensure that at least 10 per cent of these 20,000 leaders are placed in Lagos State. Today, let us rededicate ourselves to collaborating and working in true partnership to ensure that no child in Lagos State is left behind.”
TeachForNigeria is a non-profit organisation focused on developing leaders across the nation who are committed to ending educational inequity.
The initiative is in partnership with the Lagos State government to promote excellent education and leadership. Fellows are mostly young graduates teaching different core subjects in 205 schools in the state.