Nigerian Breweries Plc has flagged off the entries for the 12th edition of the Maltina Teacher of the Year (MTOTY) Award.

This is key stakeholders in the nation’s education project, particularly the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) and the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria  (TRCN), lamented the level of insecurity in Nigerian schools, especially the recent abduction of teachers and children in Oyo State schools.

These entries, which were kicked off on Tuesday during the flag-off ceremony, which took place at the Iganmu, Lagos Headquarters of the company, will run from June 3, 2026, to August 7, 2026.

The competition is sponsored and funded under the auspices of the NB-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund.

The overall winner will go home with a N10 million cash prize, a Honda HRV, an overseas capacity development training, a one-year supply of Maltina drink, and a school infrastructure project for the school of the winner.

The first runner-up will receive N5 million, while the second runner-up will get a N3 million cash prize and other rewards, and each State Champion will receive N1 million.

Since its inception in 2015, no fewer than 11,723 entries have been received, while 305 state champions and 11 overall winners have been produced.

Declaring open this year’s edition of the competition, the Company Secretary/Legal Director and Secretary to Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund, Mr Uaboi Agbebaku, said the MTOTY was instituted as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Initiatives in the education ecosystem to recognise, celebrate and reward excellent teachers for their positive contribution to education development and crucial role in shaping the lives of Nigerian children.

While lauding NB Plc for instituting the competition, which has elevated Nigerian teachers’ status, the State Secretary of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Lagos State Wing, Mr Olugbenga Ayetoba, regretted the inhuman treatment teachers are subjected to through poor remuneration, poor working conditions and high insecurity in schools.

The union and the All Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), led by Mr Olusola Masheyi, said in any sane clime, the safety and security of teachers, children and schools should be uppermost in the agenda of the government.

“A situation in which teachers are afraid to go to school, and where children and teachers are taken to the Bush by kidnappers, is a doomed one,” they lamented.