The journey to contributing to educational development though started with tech training at SkillNG but flourished with the WAEC project. Through this project, we have successfully paid for the WAEC fees of fifty-three (53) students in Ibadan Oyo State State Nigeria. We have recorded failures and more significantly successes. So far, two things stand out from this project. These include the role and importance of teachers in academic success and the importance of scaffolding.

Teachers are equipped not just to teach but also can identify growth opportunities for students. For instance, the teacher we work with, Mr. Ebenezer Akinwale exemplifies the quality of a teacher who knows his students, recognizes their challenges, and identifies the potential for the growth of his students. His character as a teacher uniquely speaks to the importance of seeing teaching as similar to the medical profession. The profession seeks the growth and success of individuals. This makes one question the importance of creating provisions that encourage teachers to love their jobs. For instance, in Nigeria, teachers’ income is quite low and might not be received in time. This could potentially cause a distraction in the self-motivation of teachers to effectively contribute to the success of the students which includes observation, empathy, and commitment. Similarly, school leaders should treat teachers with dignity and respect. While we do not think these suggestions are enough to ensure that teachers provide the educational support necessary, the attention here is for us to question how we support teachers.

Another observation that stood out to me is scaffolding. Developmental Psychologist Lev Vygotsky refers to scaffolding as the support provided to individuals in the proximal development zone (the learning environment). In the case of the WAEC Project, the scaffolding we provided for students was the tutorials. We observed that the extra tutorials significantly contributed to the student’s success. So far, we have a 70% success rate with 5 credits in major courses including Mathematics and English. Scaffolding such as organizing tutorials and equipping school libraries with books and other materials that would enhance students’ learning is very vital for students’ academic success.

The journey towards inclusive education and cultivating the interest of young adults in learning involves continued actions. If it also demands changing our strategy, then we have to. Overall, these five years made us ponder how we support, encourage, and recruit teachers and about we develop programs that enhance studies learning.

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