By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The process of getting winner of the 2016 Maltina Teacher of the Year (MTOTY) has commenced in earnest.
Deadline for the submission of entries was in July and the panel of judges met in Lagos recently to deliberate on the assessment scheme for the initiative.
The jury led by Professor Pat Utomi, after their meeting, agreed that profile of teacher, strategic approach to teaching, challenges encountered, resources utilized, among others, will be the core assessment parameters.
According to the Corporate Affairs Adviser of Nigerian Breweries Plc., Mr Kufre Ekanem, aside from Kebbi and Zamfara, 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are up in battle for the second edition of the Maltina Teacher of the Year.
Mr Ekanem explained further that the project received hundreds of entries from across the states of the federation.
However, the entries were shortlisted and validated to compete for the initiative’s coveted prize by the stringent project assessors who trimmed the entries down after a thorough and painstaking examination.
After scaling the project assessors’ hurdles, Mr Ekanem informed that the valid entries will be subjected to further scrutiny and thorough assessment process by the panel of judges, charged with determining who becomes the Maltina Teacher of the Year.
On October 20, 2016, the winners will be announced and celebrated at a grand event in Lagos.
Mr Ekanem stated that members of the panel were assembled based on their individual pedigree, professionalism and dedication adding that the job of the panel is to examine and scrutinize the valid entries received from across the country to determine winners at the state levels (state champions).
The 10 best entries will thereafter 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.
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 built at the school where he/she teaches.
“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,” Mr Ekanem averred
The MTOTY initiative with prizes worth N50 million annually, is done on the platform of NB/Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund.
Mr Ohiwerei is a former Chairman and CEO of the leading beverage conglomerate which has been operating in Nigeria since 1946. The Trust Fund was established in 1994 to contribute to the development of educational sector in the country.
Over the years, the company has used the fund to assist over 20,000 students, built over 250 classrooms and 22 libraries in both primary and secondary schools across 49 communities in the country.
