Nigerian public-school teacher, Adeola Olufunke Akinsulure, has earned a place among the world’s top 10 educators, drawing international attention to how creativity, innovation and strong results can thrive even in under-resourced classrooms.
Akinsulure, a Biology teacher at Omole Senior Grammar School, Ikeja, has been shortlisted for the 2026 GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize, a $1 million award organised by the Varkey Foundation in collaboration with UNESCO.
Her nomination emerged from over 5,000 entries across 139 countries, underscoring the global reach and competitiveness of the prize.
Now marking its 10th anniversary, the Global Teacher Prize is the largest financial award given to an individual teacher.
It celebrates outstanding teaching practice while highlighting the central role educators play in economic growth, social advancement and human capital development.
Teaching in a state-owned secondary school that caters largely to students from low-income families, Akinsulure works daily under challenging conditions, including overcrowded classrooms, limited funding and unreliable electricity.
Her global recognition reflects a growing shift in education debates toward measurable learning outcomes, rather than funding levels alone, especially in countries with rapidly expanding youth populations.
“I struggled with science myself as a student,” Akinsulure said previously, describing how that experience shaped her determination to make science accessible. “I wanted students who believed science was not for them to see that it could be creative, practical and empowering,” she said.
Her teaching framework, known as the SOAR+T model, combines edutainment, gamified learning, affordable digital tools and hands-on problem-solving.
She integrates music, role play and interactive activities to simplify complex biology topics, while using technology selectively to work around infrastructural limitations.
The impact has been remarkable. Student success rates in WASSCE Biology have climbed to between 95 and 99 per cent, including a dramatic improvement from 45.3 per cent to 99 per cent in just one year.
As a result, Omole Senior Grammar School has been ranked the best in its district and listed among the top 50 schools in West Africa.
Beyond exam results, Akinsulure is committed to expanding access to science and technology education, particularly for girls.
She established the Environmental Bees Club and REACHHer Hub, initiatives that expose students to robotics, artificial intelligence, waste-to-wealth projects and menstrual health education. Through these programmes, more than 500 girls across 106 schools have been reached.
