Two female teachers from public schools in Lagos, Nigeria, Dr. Peace Sule and Mrs. Stephanie Akinwoya have emerged among the 50 finalists for this year’s Global Teacher Prize.
They were shortlisted from over 7,000 teachers who were nominated and applied for the global award this year from 130 countries across the globe.
The competition, which has a star prize of USD 1 million (over N1 billion) for the overall winner, is free and open to all teachers globally.
However, while Mrs. Sule teaches information and communication technology at Akoka Junior High School, Yaba, her colleague, Mrs Akinwoya, is a physics teacher at Iju Senior Grammar School, Obawole, under Education District 1.
The competition’s organiser, the Verkey Foundation, announced their appearance on Wednesday through its website.
According to the foundation, the 50 finalists are from Europe (12), Asia (6), Africa (9), South America (7), North America (8), and Australia (2).
The foundation explained that all the nominees, who will now be branded just like the previous finalists as Global Teacher Ambassadors, were chosen because they advocate for inclusivity and child rights, integrate migrants into classrooms, and nurture their students’ abilities and confidence.
It stated further that all the finalists are champions of change, as they are inspiring their students and communities around them.
The overall winner will be announced later in the year from the 10 finalists, who will emerge from these 50.
Interestingly, only six Nigerian teachers have so far been shortlisted among the 50 finalists of the competition since it was instituted in 2014.
Of these, only Mr. Olasunkanmi Opeifa, who teaches English at Government Day Secondary School, Karu, Abuja, was able to reach the last stage of 10 finalists in 2020, while the others, including Samuel Itodo and Ayodele Odeogbola (2018), Soji Megbowon (2019), Adeola Adefemi, and Olusegun Adeniyi (2021), failed to go beyond the 50 finalists.
Verkey Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, with headquarters in the United Kingdom, instituted the award in collaboration with UNESCO to identify and celebrate exceptional teachers who have made outstanding contributions to the teaching profession each year, irrespective of subject area.
The award is free and open to all teachers in every kind of school, subject to local laws, in every country globally, and applicants must be ready to remain in the teaching profession for the next five years.
