The MTN SAIL Teachers Fellowship has graduated 500 public school teachers from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, equipping them with technology-driven skills to improve classroom teaching.
The graduates are part of the second phase of the fellowship, which was designed to provide teachers with practical training on integrating technology into education.
The graduation ceremony was held at MTN Plaza in Ikoyi, Lagos, with participants from across the country joining both physically and virtually.
The programme is a collaboration between the SAIL Empowerment Foundation, MTN Foundation, Microsoft, and CcHub.
Since its launch in 2022, the MTN SAIL Teachers Fellowship has trained nearly 10,000 teachers. Its first phase reached 5,000 teachers, while the top 500 from that cohort proceeded to an intensive three-month programme focused on practical classroom application and assessment.
First cohort to receive formal tech-assisted teaching training
A major highlight of this year’s programme was the introduction of Microsoft technology into the training.
This makes the graduating cohort the first group of Nigerian teachers under the programme to receive formal training focused on using technology to support and enhance teaching.
Feyisola Abiru, co-founder of the SAIL Empowerment Foundation, said the training was designed to help teachers confidently and responsibly integrate technology into their classrooms.
The programme also focused exclusively on public school teachers, reflecting the foundation’s focus on improving learning outcomes for children within Nigeria’s public education system.
Top five teachers receive laptops
Five of the 500 graduating teachers were recognised for their outstanding performance and successful application of the training in their classrooms.
Each of the five teachers received a brand-new laptop from the SAIL Foundation to support their continued learning and teaching.
The foundation described the teachers as “multipliers”, rather than beneficiaries, because of the number of students they can impact through their work.
According to the foundation’s projection, if each of the 500 teachers reaches about 80 students annually, the cohort could collectively impact approximately 400,000 Nigerian children in one year.
Over a decade, that potential impact could reach about four million young Nigerians.
The SAIL Empowerment Foundation was co-founded by Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru and Feyisola Abiru, with a mission to empower young Nigerians and expand opportunities in education, technology and other areas.
The foundation is also developing the SAIL Innovation Lab and Sports Centre in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos, which is expected to further support its education and youth development initiatives.
The future of education will not only depend on access to technology but also on how effectively teachers are equipped to use it.
Training 500 public school teachers in technology-assisted teaching is a step toward putting those tools directly in classrooms where they can influence thousands of students.
