Meet the Six Innovative Teachers Who Won 2026 SFIT Award

Six Nigerian teachers have won the 2026 SFIT Award, sharing $6,000 for innovative ideas transforming teaching and learning across Nigeria.

The award, organised by the Murdock-Thompson Center for Teachers (M-TC), USA, in partnership with the Intellectual Giants in Africa Foundation (INGAF), was presented at the 2026 SFIT Conference and Award held at Restoration Conference Hall, Kingsville Schools, Jahi, Abuja.

The conference, themed “Championing Innovation in Africa: Honoring Teachers Who Shape the Future,” brought together teachers, school owners, education administrators, policymakers, development partners and innovation advocates from Nigeria and beyond.

It celebrated educators deploying creative approaches to transform classrooms and improve students’ learning experiences.

Speakers at the event included M-TC President and Executive Director, William Lavin; former Governor of Delaware, USA, Prof. Bethany Hall-Long; Founder and Executive Director of the African Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI-4AI), Dr Uche Onyekpe; and Founder and Executive Director of INGAF, Amb. Emmanuel Idiagi.

A major highlight was a roundtable on “Ethical AI in the Classroom,” which examined opportunities and challenges surrounding the use of artificial intelligence in education.

The conference also featured the first showcase of the fellowship’s Advanced Learning Community (ALC) Robotics Programme, led by M-TC Board Member and robotics expert, Michael Oche.

The initiative, according to the organisers, is aimed at creating opportunities for schools and communities across Nigeria and Africa to participate in global competitions, including FIRST Robotics, while enabling African students to showcase their innovations internationally.

Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Idiagi said the SFIT Award was established to restore dignity to the teaching profession and encourage innovative teachers to remain in education.

He expressed concern over the migration of teachers into other sectors, particularly banking and FinTech, describing the trend as contributing to brain drain in the education sector.

According to him, teachers play a foundational role in every profession and therefore deserve recognition and encouragement.

“We have brain drain in the educational space. A lot of them are going to FinTech. Some of them are going to the banking industry, while some are going to other professions. Education is the mother of every other profession.”

Idiagi said the award was designed to make teachers feel valued, adding that while many educators were poorly remunerated, recognition could boost their morale and encourage them to remain in the profession.

“Teachers can also have their rewards here on earth,” he said.

He disclosed that more than 30 teachers had so far received $1,000 awards across different states in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, with beneficiaries emerging from Benue, Kaduna and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the programme, currently focused on West Africa, would be expanded to other African countries.

Idiagi appealed to the government, United Nations and international development organisations to support the initiative, noting that the programme had not received government support since inception.

He said M-TC, established in 1995, partnered with INGAF in 2021 through a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen collaboration on promoting innovation among African teachers.

Idiagi explained that awardees were selected based on the originality and practical impact of their innovations rather than academic qualifications.

He said even simple classroom ideas could qualify if they improved students’ learning.

“For us, it is not about qualifications but innovative ideas as little as playing music to motivate children to learn, bringing practical, hands-on and local materials into the classroom, and helping students understand their subjects better,” he said.

He urged more schools to encourage their teachers to participate, saying recognition could foster a greater sense of belonging, fulfilment and motivation among educators.

For the winners, the award provided fresh motivation to develop more solutions to challenges confronting the education sector.

One of the winners, Victor Okonkwo, a Further Mathematics teacher at Community Secondary School, Asokoro, Abuja, said his winning innovation, “Smart Water Mathematics,” was developed to promote efficient management of water resources by organisations, families and individuals.

Another winner, Nonso Ihejirika, a Digital Literacy teacher at Brighter School, Lugbe, Abuja, described the award as a major milestone.

“It is going to make me do a lot because, for the very first time in my life, I have received such an award. It would be a checkpoint for me to push,” he said.»

Also speaking, Mrs Eze Goodness Nnenaya, who teaches Entrepreneurship, Fashion Design and Garment Making at Kingsville School, Jahi, Abuja, said the award had rekindled her passion for teaching.

“It has extra-motivated me. Now I believe that our reward as teachers is not just in heaven; we are receiving it here,” she said.

Nnenaya added that the prize would enable her to acquire more knowledge and improve what she delivers to her students.

The organisers said the SFIT initiative would continue to identify, celebrate and support teachers whose innovations are making measurable differences in classrooms, while advocating greater investment in educators across Africa.