…Hosts Inaugural Dinner in London
...Highlights the inequities in the Nigerian educational system and ways the Nigerian Diaspora community can support the initiative to improve and standardize the quality of education provided to Nigerian children.
THUR, MAY 24 2018-theG&BJournal-Teach For Nigeria (TFN), a Non-profit organization focused on improving the quality of education across Nigeria, hosted its inaugural dinner for the Nigerian Business Community in London to drive support for the Teach For Nigeria program.
The event was aimed at raising awareness about the TFN vision and mission, engaging and building champions in the Diaspora in the search of practical solutions with which to transform the educational system and ensure that every Nigerian child, regardless of status, has an opportunity to attain quality education.
It also served as an avenue for the leadership of TFN to highlight the crisis and inequities that exist in the Nigerian educational system and explain how TFN is mobilizing and equipping Nigeria’s most promising young leaders to drive the movement towards educational equity.
Gbenga Oyebode, Chairman Teach For Nigeria said: “Education is a key driver for growth and the disparity in the quality of education must be addressed if we want to give as many children as possible a chance at fulfilling their potential. With the largest youth population in Africa, Nigeria is at a critical juncture in her development; we must use education as a catalyst to unleash the most productive youth workforce on the continent by working together to break down the barriers to consistent quality education in a sustainable way. This is the central ethos of Teach for Nigeria and what we hope to achieve in the long term. I am grateful for the overwhelming support from the Diaspora community here in London and their commitment to contributing to Teach for Nigeria and our overarching mission.”
Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach For Nigeria, said: “Teach For Nigeria takes a unique approach to achieving its mission by enlisting Nigeria’s most promising leaders from diverse backgrounds. As the first and only organization to partner young leaders from diverse academic backgrounds in an extended teaching and leadership service initiative, we recruit, train and support participants, called Fellows to work side by side to deliver an excellent education in underserved schools. A child’s background should not determine their life outcome and Teach for Nigeria is committed to be a catalyst for sustainable change that will impact and transform the education sector in Nigeria.”
Some of the attendees included: Folarin Oyeleye, Executive Director, JP Morgan, Tomi Davies, President, African Business Angel Network, Keith Richards , Former Managing Director, Promasidor Nigeria Ltd and Johnson Ememandu, Head of Commercial Banking, Access Bank UK.
Teach For Nigeria aims to address poor educational outcomes of Nigeria’s most marginalized pupils, by enlisting promising future leaders in the effort to expand educational and life opportunities for all children.
It launched its Fellowship program in 2017 and placed its first cohort of 45 Fellows across 25 schools impacting 2,700 children across Lagos and Ogun state with plans to expand and deepen its impact in the education system over the next five years- impacting over 500,000 primary school children across Nigeria.
