Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has presented a brand new SUVs to outstanding teachers and school administrators – among them, a deaf teacher, at the Y2021 Teachers Merit Awards held yesterday at the Sports Pavillon, Lagos House, Ikeja,
The Deaf teacher, Alhaji. Lukman Olanrewaju Agbabiaka, currently working at the State Junior Grammar School (Special) Surulere, received the award for best special education teacher category.
An elated Mr Agbabiaka was pictured seated with a top of the world smile in the brand new car presented to him yesterday.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, while speaking, maintained that one of the game-changers in the education development plan of his administration is the EKOEXCEL programme designed to support teachers towards achieving better learning outcomes across all public primary schools.
He said: “The EKOEXCEL Y2020-2021 End line Fluency and Numeracy Evaluation has further justified the huge investment in education, and affirmed the strategic interventions and impacts”.
“We have also instilled local and international training for our teachers, creating an enabling environment for teaching and learning”.
The Governor noted that the State Government’s investment in education is yielding positive results and the performance of Lagos State students in WASSCE/GCE has significantly improved from 38.79% in Y2020 to over 81% in Y2021, with a minimum of five credits including Mathematics and English.
He also emphasized that the Comprehensive School Programme aimed at reducing the rate of dropout in schools, through skills acquisition, is a fit-for-purpose education approach poised to create equal opportunities for students across the State.
“We are equipping school students to be self-reliant, skilled and empowered before exiting secondary school,” he said
The various award categories at the event included Best Teachers and Best School Administrators in Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary School categories. Meanwhile, teachers in the Special Education Needs schools and Technical Colleges were not left out.
The Nomination Committee Chairman, Mrs. Lai Koiki, said the committee was saddled with the responsibility of screening all 3,582 candidates who applied initially. The number was however pruned to 22 semifinalists.
Mrs. Koiki appreciated the Governor’s passion for promoting the teaching profession. She disclosed how some of the teachers got emotional while relating their experiences in teaching students.
