Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun said his administration would soon begin the process of absorbing some of the ‘Teach for Nigeria’ ffellowpspwho have finished their two years fellowship into the state teaching service.
Prince Abiodun disclosed when he received the Board Chairman, Teach for Nigeria, Kunle Elebute and the Chief Executive Officer, Teach for All, Wendy Kopp and other members of the team at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan Abeokuta, on Tuesday.
The governor noted that about 1,218 fellows under the Teach for Nigeria programme have worked in the state since 2019, with about 3,000 students benefitting from their teaching, adding that his administration had been responsible for about 50% of the funding.
He said: “Your request is not too much in terms of how can we consider absorbing some of these fellows who have now become champions in their various schools.
“I can make that commitment to you that we will begin that process of absorbing them.
“We’ve had about 1,218 fellows across about 404 schools, and I believe out of this, we have about 3,000 students who have benefited.
“We are responsible for about 50% of the funding, and about 183 of our teachers have that fellowship programme, and the progress is very remarkable.”
Governor Abiodun expressed his delight at the remarkable impact the Teach for Nigeria programme has had on the Ogun State educational landscape, adding that it has been transformative for his administration in terms of the impact seen in the schools, the teachers and the students.
“We have seen it in the enhancement of the skills that the teachers and the students have since acquired, enhancement in terms of competency. For us, the collaboration with Teach for Nigeria was a natural one because of our disposition to that sector,” he said.
Governor Abiodun noted that his administration leveraged on the Teach for Nigeria programme to commence the Ogun Teach programme, which he said has been very successful in the state.
According to him, about 5,000 interns have been employed under the Ogun Teach programme.
The governor said that what his administration has done with the Ogun Teach programme was to ensure the employment of almost 3, 000 interns, a move he said made his administration employed more teachers than all the administrations before him.
Earlier in his remarks, the Board Chairman, Teach for Nigeria, Mr Kunle Elebute who advocated for the employment for 40% of Teach for Nigeria fellows into the state teaching service, described Ogun as a model for other states.