Adeola Olufunke Akinsulure, a biology teacher at Omole Senior Grammar School, Ikeja, Lagos State, has been named among the global top ten finalists for the 2026 Global Teacher Prize, placing Nigeria on the world education stage.
Akinsulure, whose teaching career spans innovative STEM education, girls’ empowerment and environmental sustainability, emerged as one of the final ten educators selected from thousands of nominations worldwide. Her selection recognises her impact in transforming classroom learning outcomes and expanding opportunities for underserved students.
With academic training in Biochemistry, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (Marketing Management), Akinsulure combines strong subject knowledge with creative instructional methods. Her approach to teaching biology, which includes role play, edutainment, animations and indigenous storytelling supported by low-cost technology, has significantly improved student performance.
Records show that her students’ biology pass rate rose from 45.3 per cent in 2021 to 99 per cent in 2022 and has remained consistently high.
Beyond the classroom, Akinsulure developed the SOAR+T Teaching Model, an instructional framework that integrates technology, gamified assessment, mentorship and real-world application. Through this model, she has trained over 30,000 teachers across Nigeria and other countries, while also building digital learning communities that reach thousands of learners across West Africa.
Her students have recorded notable achievements at district, state, national and international levels. Omole Senior Grammar School has been recognised as Best School in the District between 2023 and 2025 and listed among the Top 50 Schools in West Africa in 2024.
Students mentored by Akinsulure have also won awards in national debates, sustainability competitions and waste-to-wealth entrepreneurship challenges.
Akinsulure is also known for her work in global citizenship education. She has facilitated Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) exchanges with schools in the United States and coordinated cultural dialogue through a 22-country Fulbright alumni network. One of her students recently secured a full international scholarship to participate in a virtual programme at the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition, she founded REACHHer Hub and the Confident Girls, Healthy Choices initiative, through which she has provided leadership training, menstrual health education and free hygiene products to more than 500 girls in 106 schools. She is also the author of Glow Girls, a guide focused on adolescent empowerment.
Her environmental advocacy includes the establishment of the Environmental Bees Club, plastic upcycling projects that repurposed over 3,000 kilograms of waste, and tree-planting campaigns involving over 500 trees. These efforts earned her school recognition as an Environmental Ambassador by the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA).
The Global Teacher Prize, often described as the “Nobel Prize for Teaching,” celebrates educators who make outstanding contributions to the profession. Akinsulure’s selection among the top ten finalists marks a significant milestone for Nigerian education and highlights the growing global recognition of innovative teaching practices within the country.
