Mr. Felix Udochukwu Ariguzo, a teacher with Mastercare
International School, Asaba, Delta State, has emerged the Maltina Teacher of
the Year for 2017 in the highpoint of the competition’s grand finale held in
Lagos on Thursday.
For the feat, Ariguzo was rewarded with N1
million in addition to N500,000 he received as Delta State champion. He will
also receive N1 million every year for five years, a training programme abroad and a block of six classrooms built at his school.
Ariguzo, a Biology and Chemistry teacher, revealed that he draws
inspiration for teaching from his love for service and knowledge building. He
thanked Nigerian Breweries for the gesture and enjoined other corporate
organisations to follow the worthy example. Today, I am very happy and proud
that Nigerian Breweries has shown that teachers’ rewards are both in heaven and
on earth,” he said.
The 38 year old son of a teacher maintained that teaching is not about
earning a living, but giving life a meaning and that a strong passion and
emotional stability are vital in the teaching profession.
On the night, Mrs. Chika Ume-Ezeoke, a Biology teacher with Our Lady of
Apostle, Yaba, Lagos State, emerged the first runner-up, while Mr. Samuel
Emochuaogu an English teacher with Winners International Academy, Agudama-Epie,
Yenagoa, Bayelsa State clinched the second runner-up position.
Each of the 27 State Champions received
Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500, 000) while the1st and 2nd runners-up got an
additional One Million Naira (N1, 000, 000) and Seven Hundred and Fifty
Thousand Naira (N750, 000) respectively.
While
welcoming guests at the event, the Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc.,
Mr. Johan Doyer explained that In line with its philosophy of Winning with Nigeria, the
company resolved in 1994, to play a more active role in the development of
education in Nigeria when it established the Nigerian Breweries – Felix
Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund with a commencement capital of N100 million
naira.
The fund, according
to him, has impacted over 25,000 students across the country, built 31
classroom blocks and 30 libraries equipped with furniture and books in both
primary and secondary schools across various communities.
He added that in
2015, the company’s intervention in education was expanded to include teachers
when the Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative was launched. The initiative he
said, was hinged on the realization that teachers hardly get the recognition
they deserve in spite of the pivotal role they play in determining the quality
of education and the future of our country.
“Today’s grand finale gives us an
opportunity to share happiness with our teachers and I hope that this initiative
reminds everyone to support and encourage our teachers always,” Doyer said.
He equally thanked
the stakeholders in the education sector for their support especially the
Federal Ministry of Education, the ministries of education in all the states
across the country, the Nigerian Union of Teachers, the All Nigeria Conference
of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), the Teachers Registration Council
of Nigeria, amongst several others.
In her remarks, the
Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Idiat Oluranti Adebule, who was represented
by Mr. Adesina Odeyemi, a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education,
described teachers as the most critical asset of the nation and thanked
Nigerian Breweries for the initiative she described as a big boost to teachers
and the teaching profession.
The Maltina Teacher of the Year
initiative has so far, produced 69 State Champions and three overall
winners. In 2015, Mrs. Rose Nkemdilim Obi from the Federal Government
Girls College, Onitsha,Anambra State emerged as the Maltina Teacher of the Year
at the maiden edition while Mr. Imoh Enoh Essien, a teacher at the Special
Education Center for Exceptional Children, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State won in 2016.
No comments:
Post a Comment