The Call To Love Initiative (Call2Luv), a Non-Governmental Organization, has called for renewed efforts towards teacher certification and greater support for low-cost schools serving underserved communities.
Founder of Call2Luv, Omowunmi Akingbohungbe, made the call at the organizations 15th Anniversary and the inauguration of the Affordable and Inclusive Education Index (AIEI) on Saturday in Lagos.
Akingbohungbe said the event marked a shift from direct intervention to evidence-driven system reform aimed at strengthening teachers and improving learning outcomes for children in low-income communities.
She noted that the initiative was built on a simple conviction: every child deserves access to quality education and dignity.
Akingbohungbe urged stakeholders to act on evidence and invest meaningfully in both teachers and students.
Earlier, Chairman of the 15th Anniversary Planning Committee, Dr Abiola Salami, described education as the foundation of opportunity and called for urgent support for teacher accreditation and student development programmes.
“Education is the oxygen of opportunity,” he said.
Salami noted that the organization had reached 2,000 children, trained 500 teachers, and supported 22 low-cost schools in its mission to transform lives.
He urged partners and donors to support the teacher accreditation and summer camp initiatives, emphasizing that applause alone was not enough.
“This moment demands commitment beyond convenience, giving beyond comfort, and action beyond admiration,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Ronke Soyombo, Registrar and Chief Executive of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), said the initiative’s Education Observatory and the AIEI would strengthen evidence-based decision-making in Nigeria’s education sector.
Soyombo described the data-driven approach as critical to improving learning outcomes and supporting low-cost schools.
“We cannot fix what we cannot measure,” she said.
She reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to teacher certification, stating that by December 2027, all teachers in classrooms must be licensed.
While stressing the importance of keeping children in school and providing professional training for teachers, she declared that “the street is not a classroom.”
Soyombo added that the Accelerated Teacher Professionalization Pathway would allow teachers without education degrees to undergo a six-month hybrid certification programme.
She further revealed that efforts were ongoing to secure funding to sponsor at least 100,000 teachers nationwide.
The AIEI pilot findings presented at the event showed that 95.3 per cent of teachers reported students struggling to pay school fees, 61.5 per cent of teachers were uncertified, while 93.3 per cent expressed willingness to obtain certification.
The anniversary also highlighted the human story behind the initiative through a documentary that traced its origin to a young boy named Sunday, a hard-of-hearing car wash attendant who struggled to raise money for his examinations.
The documentary showed how the initiative evolved from supporting vulnerable children and orphanages to running summer camps, teacher training programmes, and school improvement projects.
