The popular saying that “A teacher’s reward is in heaven” underlines how much the contribution of every teacher to the society cannot be quantified.
For years, the efforts of teachers have gone unrewarded materially. They continue to face challenges of low salary payments, late paydays and poor motivation.
It’s not gloomy for all teachers as there are those make millions annually from teaching but these are fewer.
In the midst of these, there are various initiatives making the teaching profession rewarding beyond the regular classroom walls.
All teachers have a level playing field to showcase their talents and capacities for excellence.
In this post, EduCeleb.com highlights these and admonishes teachers to take advantage of them.
Platforms that make teaching rewarding for Nigerian teachers
All the mentioned platforms have annual programmes and activities that reward teachers on the job. You might want to take advantage of them.
President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Awards (PTSEA)
The Teachers and Schools Excellence Awards (PTSEA) was initiated under the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2016 as part of efforts of the government to motivate teachers and schools to improve productivity in the education sector in the country.
It aims to recognise and reward deserving public schools, their teachers and administrators; institutionalise productivity consciousness and excellence in service amongst teachers, administrators and schools in the public education sector.
The award also seeks to identify, encourage and motivate teachers, administrators and schools for excellence in the delivery of quality education in Nigeria.
As the name implies, both teachers and schools are honoured in the award annually.
Since its inception, there have been nine categories of such awards.
Winners of awards are usually announced on 5th October each year in commemoration of the World Teachers’ Day.
Maltina Teacher of the Year
The Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative aims to recognise and celebrate exceptional teachers in Nigeria.
It is organised by the Nigerian Breweries Plc (NBL). Participation
is open to teachers in all public and private secondary school across the country.
The overall winner can get as much as ₦6.5 million in addition to perks for their schools and in-service training. Runners-up also have prizes in millions of naira.
State champions also do emerge from each state of the Federation and the FCT who win not less than ₦500,000.
The overall winner is usually announced on 5th October annually. Visit the organiser’s website to know when next the competition will be open.
MIT-Empowering the Teachers
MIT- Empowering the Teachers (MIT-ETT), a teaching – focused fellowship offered by MISTI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) together with its corporate partner Nigerian National Petrochemical Corporation (NNPC) and TOTAL.
MIT-ETT enables Nigerian faculty in science and engineering to experience a semester at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Selected fellows will observe instruction in their disciplines and work as a group under the guidance of MIT faculty member to prepare innovative curricula and approaches to teaching that can be introduced into their home universities on their return.
MIT-ETT will cover basic travel, living and instructional materials expenses of the participants.
At the moment, participation is limited to university teachers in electrical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and petroleum engineering.
Applications are currently being accepted for this. Visit MIT-ETT website to find out more about it.
STEM Club Schools National Competition
A teacher gets to win ₦1 million should his/her school emerge winner in the STEM Club Schools National Competition. That’s in addition to a trip to Dubai, which implies international exposure.
This contest encourages students to explore, learn, build, and understand the integration of STEM in everyday life.
It is a place where students learn using material, tools, design and create prototypes using their hands-on skills and scientific knowledge.
The winning school also gets ₦1 million with a furnished laboratory and what the organisers termed “international recognition”.
This competition is open to Primary and Secondary Schools within Nigeria. Visit the STEM Club site to know when next application would be open.
Teachers’ Reality TV Show
The first ever Teachers’ Reality TV Show (TRTS) held in August 2019 in Abuja. It aims at showcasing the incredible work that teachers do across the country in building the nation’s future.
The competition for the show saw teachers from across Nigeria compete for one of the prestigious fifteen spaces available while being housed at a location.
They are accessed by judges and jurors during the two week duration of the TV show. Some are evicted till the final winner emerges.
The overall best teacher gets a ₦1.5 million prize, while the second and third place received ₦1 million and ₦500,000 respectively. Also, the top three teachers’ schools each receive ₦500,000.
The show is endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Education and the Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
To the Convener of the Show, Ubaka Enuagwuna, teachers should be treated as first class citizens “just like in the developed countries of the world.”
Visit TRTS site to know when opening would be available for the next edition.
Cowbellpedia Secondary School TV Quiz Show
This is not run mainly as a for teachers but teachers get some benefits when their students emerge best in the national mathematics competition.
Participating secondary school students in Nigeria are screened using a nationwide examination and among the best become contestants in the Cowbellpedia Secondary School television Quiz Show.
For the written examination, the teacher of the First position winner in each State (Junior & Senior) gets ₦30,000.
The TV show is the main thing. Teachers of the First Position winners in each Category (Junior/Senior) go home with ₦500,000.
Teachers of the second and third position winners in each Category (Junior/Senior) will get ₦400,000 and ₦300,000 respectively.
There is also the cash prizes ranging from ₦30,000 to ₦75,000 for teachers of various students eliminated earlier.
Read more about Cowbellpedia here and get prepared for the next edition of the show that had been rewarding mathematics competence for 20 years.
Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program (FLTA)
The Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program (FLTA) is an American government initiative that allows Nigerian teachers to proceed to American universities to teach their native languages and cultures abroad.
Currently, only Hausa and Yoruba are two languages accepted for the FLTA. It is open to applicants who major in English Language, Education, Hausa, Yorùbá, Linguistics and Languages during their higher education studies.
Becoming a participant means that you would study in a designated university, teach language courses, supervise language labs and lead language table discussions.
Participants may also act as resource persons in conversation groups, cultural representatives, attendants in language laboratories, coordinators of extra-curricular activities, guest speakers in civilisation courses, head of language clubs, houses, tables and much more.
The grant covers the grantee’s round trip airfare to the US, a settling-in allowance, monthly stipend, housing allowance, health insurance, and tuition scholarship for their coursework.
Please, note that only the participants are covered in the programme as their relatives are not allowed to join them.
Application instructions for the 2020 FLTA can be found on the US Embassy website and applications could be submitted in Lagos and Abuja for Yorùbá and Hausa respectively.
Global Teacher Prize
The Global Teacher Prize is a US $1million dollar award, presented annually to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.
The Varkey Foundation established the prize in 2014, to recognise and celebrate the impact that teachers have around the world – not only on their students, but on the communities around them.
Nigerian teachers have got nominated as finalists but none had won the the competition started in 2014.
You can be the first Nigerian to win by submitting your application on or before 14th October, 2019.
You can also nominate a teacher you know for this. Visit the Global Teacher Prize website to get started.
