Nigerian Breweries Plc has flagged off the 12th edition of the Maltina Teacher of the Year competition, reaffirming its commitment to rewarding teachers for their role in nation building and strengthening the education sector.

The initiative, powered by the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund and Maltina, continues to grow in scope, with more brand partners joining the effort this year to honour teachers across the country.

This year’s edition comes with an expanded reward structure. Air Peace is supporting the initiative for the fourth consecutive year, while Union Bank has come on board for the third year. Honda Motors also added to the value of the competition by introducing a Honda HR-V worth N45 million for the deserving winner.

Speaking at the unveiling Uaboi Agbebaku, company secretary/legal director, Nigeria Breweries, said the overall winner will receive N10 million, N30 million worth of school infrastructure support, one year’s supply of Maltina and a brand-new SUV from Honda Automobile West Africa Limited. The first and second runners-up will go home with N5 million and N3 million respectively, while all state champions will receive N1 million each.

On the growth of the initiative, Agbebaku said the competition continues to ensure equal opportunity for teachers in all parts of Nigeria, including those in remote communities. He added that they go to hard-to-reach areas to distribute hard-copy forms to teachers without access to mobile communication or the internet. The effort, he said, has helped the platform maintain its reach and credibility, with 11 winners produced in 11 years.

“Entries last year came from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with Kaduna recording the highest number of submissions, followed by Lagos and Abuj”, he said.

For the 2026 edition, he highlighted the award’s capacity development component, which has included training at the University of Manchester in 2018 and in Finland in 2024.

“The application portal opened on June 3 and will remain open until August 7. After the submission period, entries will be screened and sent to assessors, the top 10 will be announced in October, and the grand finale will hold on October 30, when the overall winner, first runner-up and second runner-up will be unveiled.”

The keynote speaker, Saeed Aziz, founder of YamGPT.ai, said he came to the event not to speak about AI alone, but because he is “a product of teachers.” He said his experience in a modest private school shaped him deeply, adding that his teachers helped transform him from a student with limited advantages into someone confident enough to pursue excellence. Aziz noted that one teacher, Mr James, had a lasting influence on his life and career.

“He gave us a talk and that was where he told us about innovation,” Aziz said, recalling how Mr James first introduced him to the story of Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. According to him, that support helped him excel in competitions such as the Lagos Chemistry Challenge, where he stood out despite coming from a modest background.

Aziz said the experience reinforced his belief that teachers are not appreciated enough in Nigeria, even though they remain central to national development. He thanked the organisers and sponsors for recognising teachers and creating incentives that can motivate those, especially in rural communities, to keep giving their best. He said no country can make meaningful progress without serious investment in education and the people who deliver it.

Uzodinma Odenigbo, Corporate Affairs Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, also spoke on the need to measure the impact of the competition over time. He said the company had decided to embark on an impact study after marking the first decade of the Maltina Teachers competition, in order to understand how the initiative has affected teachers, children and communities across the country.

“We also need to understand how our efforts are impacting on the lives of teachers and children and more importantly identify where the immense opportunities are,” Odenigbo said. He added that the study would be extensive and would cover the length and breadth of the country. According to him, the findings are expected to be ready before the grand finale of the current edition and will form part of the impact story shared on the day.

Through the Maltina Teacher of the Year platform, Nigerian Breweries continues to spotlight teachers whose work often goes unnoticed, while also investing in their growth, visibility and long-term influence. The 12th edition, with its expanded rewards and broader support system, underscores the company’s sustained belief that teachers remain at the heart of national development.