Excitement Trail Maltina Teacher of The Year Award

Mrs. Chinwe Okwuoma is a vice principal in a secondary school at Nawfia, Anambra State. She was thrilled to hear about the Nigerian Breweries Plc powered Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year Award initiative. She said the initiative was the first bold effort by any corporate body to truly reward teachers for the great job of moulding future Nigerians. For Mr. Gozie Nwanna, the N50 million worth annual teachers reward programme for commitment and diligence to duty by teachers across the country couldn’t have come at a better time. “Maltina is a household brand that resonates with teachers and their students. I am not surprised that Nigeria Breweries is embarking on this bold initiative to enable teachers enjoy the fruit of their labour right here on earth.” He said though he was yet to take enter for the award, he would definitely take advantage of the opportunity provided by Maltina to become a millionaire before the entry closes on May 30. Kufre Ekanem, the company’s Corporate Affairs Adviser explained at a press conference in Lagos while unveiling the award, which is an initiative from the Foundation, that it was designed to recognise, celebrate and motivate teachers in Nigeria, with a first year focus on secondary schools. The award which is done on the platform of Maltina brand by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund is aimed at restoring the pride of teachers and the dignity of the teaching profession. According to him, collection of application forms which opened on Wednesday, 20th May, 2015, will last till Tuesday, 30th June, 2015. He advised interested teachers to download the application forms from the Maltina website, www.maltinanigeria.com and upload to the site or return via the company’s post office mail box. Ekanem stated that all applications would be subjected to an intense selection and judging process by an external and independent panel of judges which has been constituted to ensure transparency, credibility and objectivity of the exercise. The 5-step evaluation process of the entries received, he noted, will result in 37 state and FCT champions, from among which the Maltina Teacher- of- the- Year will emerge. The state champions and national winners will be celebrated in a grand ceremony on Monday, October 5, 2015, a day set aside by the United Nations to mark the World Teachers Day. The national winner will get one million naira and another one million naira to be paid into his account annually for five years. “We hope that through this initiative, we can inspire this nation to accord our teachers their deserved credit and bring back respect to the teaching profession in Nigeria, “Kufre said, adding that the objective of the award was to create an avenue where exceptional teachers would be showcased and rewarded annually and continuously. Also speaking at the occasion, Mr. Victor Famuyibo, the company’s Human Resources Director described teachers as builders of the wealth of nations who deserved to be recognised, encouraged and celebrated. “Everywhere in the world, teachers play a vital role in training, coaching and determining the quality of education and this is critical to sustainable national development,” he added. Mr. Wale Oyeniyi, the acting deputy general secretary of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT commended the initiative by Nigerian Breweries and declared that Maltina drink had become the official beverage of the union in all its activities across the country. He promised to mobilise all chapters of the union to participate fully in the exercise.’