The organisers of the “Teachers Naija” television reality show on Thursday announced that the season three of the show would hold from Sept. 24 to Oct. 23.
The organiser, Mr Enuagwuna Ubaka, disclosed this during a news conference held in Lagos.
Ubaka said that the reality show which focuses on celebrating Nigerian teachers in view of their huge contributions to nation building has its theme as “The Smart Teacher”.
He said that the overall winner of the show would go home with the grand prize of N10 million, the first runner up would have N7 million, while the second runner up gets N5 million.
“The Teachers Naija television reality show is back for the season 3, to hold from Sept. 24 to Oct. 23, 2022.
“This is a show we are putting together to bring back the lost glory of the Nigerian teachers, knowing well that teaching profession has been bastardised in Nigeria and relegated to the background,” he said.
According to him, the 20 housemates will stay on the show for 30 days while their activities in the house will be aired on DSTV, one hour daily.
He said that popular Nigerian comedian, Ayo Makun, popularly known as “AY”, would be the face of the show while Nollywood actor, Babaseun Faseru, remained the host of the show.
“Our previous editions in 2019 and 2021 has been successful, we want that profession to be seen as important, the first season 3 teachers were taken abroad, all expense paid trip.
“The show has come to change the general perception that the reward of teachers is in heaven, it is now on earth.
“The show promises to be educating and entertaining,” he said.
Ubaka said that some of the selection criteria was that each teacher must be between 21 and 45 years old, must be registered with the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and be actively teaching.
He noted that the show was organised in collaboration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), the Federal Ministry of Education and NUT.
Earlier, Mr Kehinde Quadri-Adu, Head, Culture and Tourism, African Union, urged the African governments to work on ensuring teachers’ standard of living was consistently improved to make it an enviable profession.
“Teachers earn the best salary in Finland, we should be able to replicate this in African countries considering their contribution to nation building,” he said.
A sponsor of the show, Mrs Susan Akporiaye, National President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), said it was high time Nigerian teachers were celebrated.
Akporiaye said that these were individuals known as destiny moulders, therefore, corporate organisations and philanthropists should come on board to sponsor.
“These are people that protect our children significantly. I am concerned in protecting that aspect of our lives, we should engage our educational system.
Faseru, host of the show, who gave account of his experience as a teacher upon graduation, urged school proprietors to encourage teachers on personal development.