Lagos educators are moving away from traditional rote learning and exam-driven instruction to empower students to solve real-world problems in their schools and communities. This shift was highlighted at the graduation ceremony for the third cohort of the Changemaker Teacher Activation Programme, a three-year pilot initiative led by global partners Ashoka, First Book, and Teach For All. The programme trained 400 teachers in its final group, with 200 graduating, focusing on embedding essential qualities such as critical thinking, empathy, leadership, and collaboration directly into everyday classroom lessons rather than treating them as standalone subjects. According to Angelou Ezeilo, Co-President of Ashoka Africa and Programme Director, equipping young people with capabilities beyond basic literacy and numeracy is vital for navigating a complex society, encouraging educators to guide students toward taking direct action on local challenges rather than merely identifying them.
This practical approach has inspired a wide array of student-led projects across Lagos public schools. Students have beautified classrooms, recycled waste into useful products, built anti-bullying games to foster empathy, and established peer support networks. In some schools, students organized digital-skills workshops and raised awareness about menstrual health, while teachers at Araromi Junior Secondary School introduced vocational and entrepreneurship training directly into the curriculum to engage students who were previously missing school to learn skills elsewhere. Educators have noticed a marked transformation in classroom dynamics; as Assistant Director in Education District 3 Shalewa Ololade noted, teachers are transitioning from traditional instructors to mentors who cultivate student confidence and welcome student-led solutions. Although the three-year pilot phase has concluded, organizers plan to expand the model across Nigeria through a train-the-trainer framework led by newly appointed teacher ambassadors, while similar initiatives are being developed in Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa as organizers seek private-sector support to scale the impact in public schools.
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