Nigerian school gets $50,000 prize

Wisdom International School of Excellence in Abuja has been shortlisted for the 2024 World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity.

This kindergarten to secondary school has tackled the health crisis of open defecation and has earned a place in the top 10 for this prestigious award.

The World’s Best School Prizes, founded by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, and the Lemann Foundation, are among the most prestigious education awards globally. This year’s winners will share a $50,000 prize fund.

According to a statement by T4 Education, winners will be selected by an expert, Judging Academy based on rigorous criteria. Additionally, all 50 shortlisted schools across the five prize categories will participate in a public vote, which opened today.

It stated that the school receiving the most public votes would win the Community Choice Award and gain membership in T4 Education’s Best School to Work programme, aimed at supporting teacher wellbeing and addressing teacher recruitment and retention challenges.

Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, Vikas Pota, emphasised the importance of addressing global education challenges, from learning gaps exacerbated by COVID-19 to chronic underfunding and teacher wellbeing issues.

He praised Wisdom International School of Excellence, stating, “Trailblazing Nigerian schools like Wisdom International School of Excellence, which have cultivated a strong culture and aren’t afraid to innovate, show the difference that can be made to so many lives. Schools everywhere can now learn from their solutions, and it’s time governments do so as well.”

He added that the top three finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes would be announced in September 2024, with the winners revealed in November.

Each prize winner will receive $10,000 from the $50,000 prize fund. The Community Choice Award winner, determined by the public vote, will receive membership to Best School to Work, providing detailed feedback, actionable insights, and benchmarking data to help schools improve their culture and attract and retain top teachers.