Promoting innovation among students crucial – Maltina Teacher of the Year

Alaku Ayiwulu is a teacher and the winner of the 2022 Maltina Teacher of the Year Competition. In this interview, Ayiwulu speaks about his journey to winning the coveted prize and why it is more crucial than ever to guide students towards innovation. How will you describe your journey to becoming a winner? I would […]

Alaku Ayiwulu is a teacher and the winner of the 2022 Maltina Teacher of the Year Competition. In this interview, Ayiwulu speaks about his journey to winning the coveted prize and why it is more crucial than ever to guide students towards innovation.

How will you describe your journey to becoming a winner?

I would say it has been a great journey thus far and remembering how this journey began with a goal, vision, and determination to put myself out there and try out something different and of great magnitude, it was definitely worth it. I was glad to allow myself to take baby steps, towards reaching the set goal of becoming the winner of the 2022 Maltina Teacher of the Year Competition.

What does this award and recognition mean to you? 

The award means a lot to me. It symbolises great honour to myself, all the students, my school, all teachers I have learned from, worked with, taught, guided, and received direction from, and my journey in education so far. As far as recognition is concerned, it is also a thrill to be in the limelight and be appreciated by people from different facets of life. 

Were you confident initially of winning the prize? 

No, I wasn’t optimistic at first, probably because I saw myself surrounded by a calibre of teachers having different pools of experiences and so on. But on a second thought, I told myself that I would put in my best, confident that when I leave Lagos, I can beat my chest that I did my best and gave my all. So, I guess that was my conviction at the end of the day.

How would this contest improve your teaching capacity?

I believe this win will only push me further to develop myself, help in developing others in different capacities, and work towards contributing to national development as a teacher. I am also appreciative of the incentive from the Maltina Teacher of the Year Competition, especially the opportunity to be part of other capacity development training to come.

What strategies can Nigeria use to improve productivity and competitiveness?

I think a review of our current curriculum will go a long way in addressing some of our learning needs. Additionally, I would suggest that relevant education stakeholders such as the National Universities Commission (NUC) should introduce an inter-university exhibition as a way of promoting innovation among Nigerian universities. Government-owned e-learning platforms and digital tool infrastructure should also be invested in, as should more teacher training and capacity development with appropriate infrastructure for practicability

What challenges do teachers face?

One of my major challenges in teaching was meeting the needs of diverse students, a classroom filled with learners with different ability levels and backgrounds. The utilisation of different approaches in the classroom (differentiated instruction) takes a lot of preparation time, creativity, and patience but at the end of it all, it’s an empowering experience. Secondly, steady electricity was a major issue for me because teaching with multimedia (video, picture, sound, simulations, and so on) required that, to allow learning broaden the imagination of learners beyond the walls of a classroom and make learning much deeper and more meaningful, especially in the sciences which can be full of abstract concepts. Thirdly, I would say that inadequate infrastructure (laboratory equipment, projectors, computers, etc.) is a major issue.

Finally, there is also the issue of having a feeling of being overworked, unsupported, or underpaid, the difficulty of work-life balance and not getting proper rest can result in burnout and increased work stress.

Can you share the key drivers of your success? 

For me, I believe hard work, patience with students, daring to be different, research, continuous personal development, seeking guidance and counselling from experienced people, and faith in what I do have continued to stand me out.

How would you evaluate the impact of the competition on the education system?

Over the years, the Maltina Teacher of the Year competition has awarded schools with various projects and trained teachers overseas. It is my biggest joy that I won the competition and I am happy that my school and students will benefit from this venture since infrastructure will be donated to the school. I believe that this competition has increased the drive of teachers to do more, to become more than just teachers to students.

It’s also a great honour for every teacher to be placed on this platform as this would definitely increase the passion for the profession, which at some point in time, was considered ‘a last resort career’ after all job hunts have bitten the dust.