ABEOKUTA – Ogun State Government has disclosed that plans are underway to have the Governor’s Teachers’ School Excellence Award, with a view to creating healthy and meaningful competition among teachers in the state to further encourage teachers in the state to do more.
The State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun who made this known in his office, while being presented with the awardees that did the state proud at the President-Teachers School Excellence Award recently held in Abuja (an award for teachers across the country) said that the State Government was happy about the feat recorded by the teachers and will domesticate the award to let teachers in the state know that their reward is not only “in heaven”, but also on earth.
“I want to introduce a state challenge among teachers in our state. The challenge will be known as the Governor’s Teachers’ School Excellence Award. We are going to domesticate this. What we will do to those that excel will be bigger than what you got from the President-Teachers Award. We will expand it to accommodate more teachers. Today, you have done us proud, our heads are ‘swollen,’ you have done us proud. It is important we sustain it, and one of the ways is to establish the Governor’s Excellence Award,” he said.
He added that the state government will continue to give all necessary support to teachers in the state, saying that his administration would continue to do all in its power to return the state to its place of pride in the education sector.
“If out of 15 awards, we have won 4, that means there is 11 to share between the other 35 states. That means we have done well. I want to assure you that we will give you all the needed support to sustain all what you have achieved,” he said.
Abiodun also disclosed that the State Government would support the winners with cash gifts as a way of incentives, saying that no goodwill will go without its reward.
He said that the State Government would support the Best School Teacher (Private School Category) Mr. Adebiyi Abiola Temitayo, from Varsity Children Grammar School, Ijebu-Ode, with two million Naira; Best Teacher Senior (Public), Mr. Adeeko Olalekan Ademola, from the Baptist Boys High School, Saje, Abeokuta, with one million, five hundred thousand Naira; Best School Senior Secondary (Public), Mr Olalekan Dawodu, the Principal of Mayflower School, Ikenne, with one million Naira; and the Best Administrator, Junior School (Public), from Aderenle High School, Ifo, with five hundred thousand Naira.
Earlier in her remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary, Secondary and Technical Education, Mrs Ronke Soyombo noted that the feat recorded at the awards was an indication of better things to come for the education sector of the state, adding that the awards were coming at a time when Prince Dapo Abiodun had decided to take the sector back to its place of pride.
She congratulated the recipients of the awards, calling on other teachers to put in their best in their task of instilling knowledge into the students, saying that all of their hard work will be rewarded by the teacher-friendly government.
