Lagos teacher wins African Union Teacher Prize

Barely two weeks after two Lagos teachers were shortlisted among the top 50 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize, another teacher in a state public school, Adeola Adefemi, has emerged as the winner of this year’s African Union Continental Teacher Prize.

She was announced the winner virtually on Thursday afternoon by the Director of UNESCO in charge of the International Institute of Capacity Building in Africa, Wodon Quentin, to commemorate this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebration held across the globe.

Adefemi, an English language teacher at Keke Senior High School in Agege under the state’s Education District 1, is a multiple-award-winning teacher.

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

Later that same year, she won the Presidential Best Teacher Prize in Nigeria and was given another SUV by the Federal Government for her efforts.

Now, with her latest award, 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, won the AU Teacher Prize from Nigeria since its establishment four years ago, and he won it in 2020.

The African Union Commission honours a maximum of eight teachers who have been found exemplary in service delivery in the classrooms and also in the communities among teachers from the various regions of the continent on a yearly basis.

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

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

So, the award will not only serve as a means of demonstrating respect for teachers and the teaching profession but will also raise their status and inspire the best possible candidates to join the teaching profession in Africa.

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