Excitement has reached fever pitch among teachers and other education stakeholders as the October 20 date for the unveiling of the Maltina Teacher of the Year draws close. Indeed, Nigerians are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the work of the panel of judges that will determine who is named the best teacher in Nigeria for 2016.
Like last year, the Maltina Teacher of the Year 2016 will get one million Naira instantly, plus one million Naira every year for the next five years. The package also includes a development training opportunity abroad and a block of classrooms to be built at the school where he/she teaches.
At the close of entries for this year’s edition, teachers from 34 states and Abuja had turned in their applications to vie for the coveted prize. While explaining the modalities to be used to determine the winner, the Corporate Affairs Adviser, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Kufre Ekanem said, “the teacher with the highest score, from each state will be named as the State Champion, provided that score is above the qualification mark set by the judges. From the pool of State Champions, the top ten teachers will be invited to a session with the panel of judges at a test centre. The top performer at the test centre will be announced as the 2016 Maltina Teacher of the Year at a grand event in Lagos on October 20.”
Ekanem added that “It is our hope that through the Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative, we can inspire this nation to accord our teachers their deserved credit and bring back respect to the teaching profession in Nigeria.”
The Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative with prizes worth N50 million annually, is done on the platform of the Nigerian Breweries/Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund. The Trust Fund was established in 1994 to contribute to the development of the educational sector in the country.
Last year, a teacher from Anambra State, Mrs Rose Nkemdilim Obi emerged winner at the maiden edition of the Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year.
Obi, who is equally a daughter of a teacher, teaches Mathematics and Chemistry at the Federal Government Girls College Onitsha. The year 2000 graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State beat nine other finalists to the coveted prize.
The first runner-up at last year’s edition, Mrs. Binta Mohammed Lawan, teaches at the Federal Government College Maiduguri, Borno State, while Mr. Daniel Sunday Effiong from Akwa Ibom State emerged as the second runner-up.
