TheCable

Olusegun Adeniyi, chairman THISDAY editorial board,  and Pat Utomi, founder/CEO, Centre for Values in Leadership, have been selected alongside eminent Nigerians to be on a panel to select Maltina teacher of the year.

The competition which hosted by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust fund has revealed that 33 states across the federation are up in battle for its maiden edition.

Aside Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara and Nasarawa states, 33 states including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja will be competing for the national prize aimed at restoring the dignity and pride of the teaching profession in Nigeria.

Kufre Ekanem, the corporate affairs adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc., disclosed this during the inaugural meeting of the Panel of Judges.

Ekanem explained that the project received thousands of entries from across the states of the federation, with only a couple of hundreds validated to compete, adding that it was time to celebrate teachers.

“This is something we are proud of. We encourage you to be stringent in your judging process. October 12 when this prize will be awarded, will be the day that the teaching profession will be put on a scale in Nigeria and celebrated in a grand event

“Teachers are used to watching other being celebrated on TV, now is their time to be celebrated”.

Other members of the panel are; Mopelola Omoegun, dean, faculty of education,   university of Lagos; Thomas Ofuya, vice chancellor, Wellspring university; Abdulrahman Fatima, national president, All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS); Tijjani Abubakar dean, faculty of education, Ahmadu Bello University.

The 10 best entries will be invited for the grand finale where the panel will further subject the 10 finalists to rigorous scrutiny in order to determine who truly should be named the Maltina teacher of the Year.

Prizes shall be awarded to the tune of N50 million annually, to reward commitment and diligence to duty by teachers across the country.