The popular saying that “A teacher’s reward is in heaven” underlines how much the contribution of every teacher to the society cannot be quantified. For years, the efforts of teachers have gone unrewarded materially. They continue to face challenges of low salary payments, late paydays and poor motivation. It’s not gloomy for all teachers as there are those make millions annually from teaching but these are fewer. In the midst of these, there are various initiatives making the teaching profession rewarding beyond the regular classroom walls. All teachers have a level playing field to showcase their talents and capacities for excellence. In this post, EduCeleb.com highlights these and admonishes teachers to take advantage of them. All the mentioned platforms have annual programmes and activities that reward teachers on the job. You might want to take advantage of them. The Teachers and Schools Excellence Awards (PTSEA) was initiated under the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2016 as part of efforts of the government to motivate teachers and schools to improve productivity in the education sector in the country. It aims to recognise and reward deserving public schools, their teachers and administrators; institutionalise productivity consciousness and excellence in service amongst teachers, administrators and schools in the public education sector. The award also seeks to identify, encourage and motivate teachers, administrators and schools for excellence in the delivery of quality education in Nigeria. As the name implies, both teachers and schools are honoured in the award annually. Since its inception, there have been nine categories of such awards. Winners of awards are usually announced on 5th October each year in commemoration of the World Teachers’ Day. The Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative aims to recognise and celebrate exceptional teachers in Nigeria. It is organised by the Nigerian Breweries Plc (NBL). Participation is open to teachers in all public and private secondary school across the country. The overall winner can get as much as ₦6.5 million in addition to perks for their schools and in-service training. Runners-up also have prizes in millions of naira. State champions also do emerge from each state of the Federation and the FCT who win not less than ₦500,000. The overall winner is usually announced on 5th October annually. Visit the organiser’s website to know when next the competition will be open. MIT- Empowering the Teachers (MIT-ETT), a teaching – focused fellowship offered by MISTI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) together with its corporate partner Nigerian National Petrochemical Corporation (NNPC) and TOTAL. MIT-ETT enables Nigerian faculty in science and engineering to experience a semester at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Selected fellows will observe instruction in their disciplines and work as a group under the guidance of MIT faculty member to prepare innovative curricula and approaches to teaching that can be introduced into their home universities on their return. MIT-ETT will cover basic travel, living and instructional materials expenses of the participants. At the moment, participation is limited to university teachers in electrical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and petroleum engineering. Applications are currently being accepted for this. Visit MIT-ETT website to find out more about it. A teacher gets to win ₦1 million should his/her school emerge winner in the STEM Club Schools National Competition. That’s in addition to a trip to Dubai, which implies international exposure. This contest encourages students to explore, learn, build, and understand the integration of STEM in everyday life. It is a place where students learn using material, tools, design and create prototypes using their hands-on skills and scientific knowledge. The winning school also gets ₦1 million with a furnished laboratory and what the organisers termed “international recognition”. This competition is open to Primary and Secondary Schools within Nigeria. Visit the STEM Club site to know when next application would be open. The first ever Teachers’ Reality TV Show (TRTS) held in August 2019 in Abuja. It aims at showcasing the incredible work that teachers do across the country in building the nation’s future. The competition for the show saw teachers from across Nigeria compete for one of the prestigious fifteen spaces available while being housed at a location. They are accessed by judges and jurors during the two week duration of the TV show. Some are evicted till the final winner emerges.