An inspirational Nigerian school has been named in the Top 10 shortlists for the World’s Best School Prizes 2024. The five World’s Best School Prizes, founded by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, and the Lemann Foundation, are the world’s most prestigious education prizes and this year’s winners will share a $50,000 prize fund.
Wisdom International School of Excellence (WISE), an independent kindergarten to secondary school in Abuja, Nigeria, which has tackled the health crisis of open defecation, has been named in the Top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity.
The five World’s Best School Prizes – for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives – were established in the wake of COVID in 2022 to give a platform to schools that are changing lives in their classrooms and far beyond their walls, sharing their best practices to help improve education everywhere.
The winners of the five Prizes will be chosen by an expert Judging Academy based on rigorous criteria. In addition, all 50 shortlisted schools across the five Prizes will also take part in a Public Vote, which opened today. The school which receives the most public votes will receive the Community Choice Award and membership to T4 Education’s Best School to Work programme to help them support teacher wellbeing and solve the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said: “Unless we solve the urgent challenges global education faces – from learning gaps exacerbated by COVID to chronic underfunding and the growing teacher wellbeing, recruitment and retention crisis – we will have failed the next generation.
“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.”
Wisdom International School of Excellence (WISE), an independent kindergarten to secondary school in Abuja, Nigeria, is a beacon of hope in a community grappling with poverty and limited access to quality education, whose work has tackled the health crisis of open defecation. Established in 2013, WISE integrates practical-based learning with a strong emphasis on sustainability and community development.
At the heart of WISE’s transformative impact is the Tudun-Wada Eco-Toilet Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Project. This student-led initiative has drastically reduced open defecation from 75% to below 20%, significantly improving community health standards and enhancing access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
The WASH project included an initial comprehensive assessment, based on which the WASH committee, made up of students and community members, worked to raise awareness and conduct educational outreach and community engagement to directly address the sanitation needs of the community. The next steps involved mobilising resources and building the necessary sanitation facilities. Today, WISE continuously monitors and manages the sanitation facilities to ensure their sustained use and maintenance.
Leadership at WISE transcends traditional educational roles, fostering a 21st-century learning environment that nurtures well-rounded individuals who are academically proficient and socially responsible. This ethos is embodied in their approach to inclusion, where diversity is celebrated, and every student is provided the platform to succeed.
Additional initiatives like the WISE Fish Farm Enterprise and menstrual hygiene management education further attest to the school’s commitment to holistic education and environmental stewardship. These programmes not only enrich students’ learning experiences but also equip them with the skills necessary for entrepreneurial success.
The Top 3 finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes will be announced in September 2024 followed by the winners in November. The winner of each Prize will be chosen based on rigorous criteria by a Judging Academy comprising distinguished leaders across the globe including academics, educators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society, and the private sector.
A prize of US$50,000 will be equally shared among the winners of the five Prizes, with each receiving an award of US$10,000. Meanwhile, the winner of the Community Choice Award, as determined by the Public Vote, will receive membership to Best School to Work – an independent, evidence-based mechanism to certify schools for their culture and working environment. Membership comes with detailed feedback, actionable insights, and benchmarking data to help schools transform their culture to attract and retain the best teachers.
