The MTN Foundation and SAIL Innovation Lab on Thursday graduated 500 teachers trained in digital pedagogy, modern teaching methods, and responsible AI-assisted teaching.
The graduands were drawn from 5,000 public primary and secondary school teachers selected nationwide for the MTN-SAIL Teachers Fellowship Programme, with the top 500 proceeding to intensive training.
The Chairman Board of Directors of MTN Foundation, Dr Mosun Belo-Olusoga, said teachers remain among the most important architects of Nigeria’s future.
noted that teachers play a role beyond education, adding that they shape lives, strengthen communities, and contribute to national transformation through the students they inspire.
Belo-Olusoga was represented by Mr Innocent Entonu, General Manager for Sales and Promotions at MTN.
The chairman also shared a personal experience, recalling how an 84-year-old teacher continued to influence her life and career decades after teaching her.
She said the experience demonstrated the lasting influence teachers could have, noting that every successful professional had a teacher who nurtured curiosity, confidence and potential.
She said MTN Foundation’s partnership with SAIL Innovation Lab was driven by the conviction that strengthening teachers was essential to improving education.
She said the programme had equipped thousands of educators with contemporary teaching methodologies, digital competencies and skills required to navigate an increasingly technology-driven world.
The chairman said training in inquiry-based learning, learner-centered teaching, digital pedagogy, Google Classroom, and artificial intelligence would help teachers create classrooms where students could think critically and innovate.
She urged the graduating teachers to measure the programme’s success not by their certificates, but by the curiosity they inspire, confidence they build and opportunities they unlock for students.
The chairman also urged the beneficiaries to share their knowledge with colleagues and to keep challenging students to think bigger and believe their aspirations were achievable.
Mrs Feyisola Abiru, co-founder of SAIL Innovation Lab, said the fellowship had trained fewer than 10,000 Nigerian teachers since its launch in 2022.
She said the programme was designed to equip teachers with inquiry-based learning, learner-centered teaching approaches, digital competencies and emerging technologies needed to navigate changing educational demands.
Abiru said 5,000 teachers participated in the fellowship’s first phase, while the best 500 progressed to three months of intensive online training.
She said the selection deliberately focused on public-school teachers because the public education system served the majority of Nigerian children.
According to her, the current cohort received formal training in artificial intelligence-assisted teaching through Microsoft, making them among the first Nigerian classroom teachers exposed to the curriculum.
Abiru charged the graduands to put their training to use in class, share lessons with colleagues, and push students to think critically, innovate, and believe in themselves.
She described the graduands as “multipliers,” saying each teacher could potentially reach about 80 children annually, giving the cohort a potential reach of 400,000 children within one year.
Abiru said five outstanding teachers were selected for special recognition and would receive laptops to support their professional development and strengthen technology-enabled teaching.
Abiru also announced plans to establish an alumni network for beneficiaries, including a reconnection campaign and an annual SAIL Founders Day celebration.
She said SAIL was also developing an innovation lab and sports centre with a teachers’ lounge, providing a permanent platform for teachers after completing the fellowship.
She urged the graduands not to treat their certificates as the end of their achievement but as evidence of training that should translate into measurable classroom impact.
Also speaking, Lagos State Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Mr Olatubosun Alake, described teacher development as one of the most impactful investments government could make.
Alake said infrastructure, connectivity, data centres and digital services were important, but trained teachers could multiply their impact across generations of students.
He said the 500 beneficiaries were participating in the global conversation on artificial intelligence and education, not merely as observers but as classroom practitioners.
“AI will not fix a classroom. Inquiry-based learning is the real revolution here. Technology only amplifies whatever pedagogy is already there,” Alake said.
He urged teachers to retain inquiry-based learning as the foundation while using artificial intelligence and other digital tools to enhance teaching and learning.
Mrs Odunayo Sanya, Executive Director of MTN Foundation, said the foundation had invested more than N34 billion in projects over 22 years.
Sanya said the investments had directly impacted millions of Nigerians through initiatives covering capacity building, health, empowerment and community development.
She said the Teachers Fellowship Programme remained focused on improving education quality in Nigerian primary and secondary schools through capacity building and technology.
Sanya said the initiative demonstrated the power of partnerships and technology to scale teacher development beyond the programme’s initial vision.
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, commended MTN Foundation and its partners for investing in teacher development.
Sanwo-Olu was represented by Mrs Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin. Secretary to the State Government.
Sanwo-Olu said Lagos remained committed to building an inclusive, innovative and future-ready education system capable of preparing young people for a technology-driven global economy.
He the training of public-school teachers demonstrated a commitment to strengthening education and equipping educators with skills required to meet changing demands.
The governor urged the beneficiaries to take the knowledge they had acquired beyond the fellowship and to become champions of innovation, digital learning, and positive transformation in their schools and communities.
He said investing in teachers was ultimately an investment in children, stressing that stronger teacher capacity would contribute to improved learning outcomes and sustainable development.
Newsextra24 reports that the highlight of the graduation was the presentation of laptops to three outstanding teachers: Mr Francis Edeki, Ms Jamila Idris, and Ms Dorcas Oluwadara.
The fellowship was implemented through partnerships involving MTN Foundation, SAIL Innovation Lab, Microsoft and other supporting organisations, with teachers participating from across Nigeria.
The graduating teachers were encouraged to multiply their knowledge by training colleagues, strengthening classroom practice and preparing Nigerian children for an increasingly digital and technology-driven future.
