Jubilation As Nigeria Emerges Top 10 Finalist At The Global Teachers Prize 2020

Recognition is one of the greatest motivation for any man. That is because in most cases men need validation for their achievements, sometimes though if that recognition or validation is absent we may begin to wonder if we are forgotten.

However, recognition is a powerful way for our society to continue to move forward, even when it feels like it’s at a standstill. And not only does it help society and our industry, it helps us as people. It feels good to be recognized for our hard work and contributions. It helps us stay positive, engaged, and motivated.

Oyo state born Olasunkanmi Samuel Opeifa, an Educationalist though an English Teacher from ' Government Day Secondary School, Karu, Abuja, Nigeria. He made a decision of becoming a teacher at the very young age of just eight years and has never wavered in his choice. His choice of becoming a teacher has gained him so much fame and awards. In 2018, he clinched the coveted Matina Teacher Of the Year Award at a glamorous ceremony. 

Apparently, Olasunkanmi Opeifa is an inspiration to many student, he has a reputation for innovation and going out of his way to ensure his students receive the best possible tuition, often consulted by other staff on the latest 21st century learning skills, as he uses the flipped classroom model for teaching essay writing, Google Forms or Microsoft Forms for assessment, online videos and e-past questions.

To stimulate his students he has been known to use edutainment/ fun-based learning for teaching English language concepts, for example linking essay writing with popular dance steps and, to demonstrate phonology and grammar, he has even taken to rapping and hip-hop songs.

Having published a book on oral English pedagogy in 2014, he has been invited to speak at seminars organised for teachers. He boosted his school’s recognition and good name winning the 2018 Maltina Teacher of the Year Award as the best teacher in Nigeria and as part of the dividend from this prize a block of six classrooms was built at the school with a library well stocked with books, enabling the school to take up to 300 new students a year, he introduced free weekend tutorial class in order to cover syllabus with them.

Therefore, Stephen Fry who said he is delighted to announces a Nigerian teacher, Olasunkanmi Opeifa as a Top Ten Finalists for the Global Teacher Prize 2020. He was shortlisted for the Global Teachers Prize 2020 after being selected from over 12,000 nominations and applications from over 140 countries around the world.

His success story began shortly after graduation, he served for a year in a very remote part of the country, Koma, Adamawa, as the only English teacher in a village school of over 200 students, where he helped build the school’s first ever library. In 2012, he moved to Government Day Secondary School in Karu, a semi-rural area of Abuja serving children of low-income earners in the civil service, market traders and artisans. Students often cannot afford textbooks or the heavily subsidized school fees. With more than fifty students per class, he grappled with teaching English to children with poor writing and reading skills and relative poverty, but despite so many challenges, he is a success story, he is recognized across the globe as a top ten finalist for the global teacher. It is obvious that Olasunkanmi Samuel Opeifa has made Nigerians proud and through this honor, Nigeria has been historically recognized.