Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has stated his administration’s commitment to the provision of more investment, funding, and infrastructure to further boost quality education in Lagos State.
Sanwo-Olu said the state government was working in partnership with TeachForNigeria to build a sustainable five-year programme to domesticate the initiative in Lagos State as the TeachForLagos project.
The governor spoke on Monday at the “TeachForNigeria: A Day with Mr. Governor” held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa, Ikeja.
The event, which is part of activities marking the International Day of Education with the theme ‘Learning for lasting peace’, had in attendance, members of the state executive council, top government officials, teachers, pupils, and students from various public schools, and other key stakeholders in the education sector.
Sanwo-Olu said 275 fellows have been recruited since 2020 into the teaching profession through the TeachForNigera initiative across the state by his administration in a bid to ensure that no child is left behind in education.
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 in the state. TeachForNigeria Fellows, mostly young graduates, are teaching different core subjects in 205 schools in the state.
Sanwo-Olu, during an interactive session with Fellows of TeachForNigeria, praised their commitment and contributions to some of the successes achieved by the state locally and internationally in the education sector.
Earlier, Folawe Omikunle, the CEO, of TeachForNigeria, noted that over the next ten 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 on the transformative journey that we have collectively taken to address educational challenges in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State. In 2020, we partnered with the Lagos State 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.”
