The Lagos State Government says it will continue to strengthen education through teacher training, school infrastructure upgrades, digital learning tools and strategic partnerships aimed at improving teaching and learning outcomes.
Commissioner For Basic and Secondary Education, Tolani Ali-Balogun who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Abisola Dokunmu-Adegbite, said this at the Darsel 2025/2026 State Award Programme held at Adeyemi Bero Hall, Alausa Secretariat.
“When you reward hard work and success, things only get better. The impact is that we are going to get better in mathematics, and I can assure you of that. Comparing our results from 2024 to 2025, there is a clear difference,” she noted.
She stated that the awards would send a signal to more students, teachers, and schools to do better.
According to her, the awards would encourage greater excellence among students, teachers and schools, noting improvements in mathematics performance between 2024 and 2025.
She also said the state government would continue to collaborate with stakeholders in the education sector to improve learning outcomes of pupils and students in public schools in line with the THEMES Plus agenda.
Also speaking, Doctor Tolu Alalade of Sapphire 21st Century Skills, commended the Lagos State Government with Darsel for the partnership opportunity.
Alalade said the collaboration enabled his organization to implement a mathematics problem-solving platform that has been beneficial to students’ academic performance and personal development.
He said the initiative would also ensure a firm foundation for students in Mathematics and in their future endeavours calling for sustained support to ensure the success of the programme.
Education stakeholders in Lagos which include
Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (Lagos State), Akintoye Hassan, praised a mathematics competition for improving students’ academic performance, saying participants had solved over 1,000 practice questions and shown better results in schools.
Hassan said mathematics develops critical thinking and challenges students to use their skills to solve national problems rather than pursue only personal interests.
Mathematics is about critical thinking. The questions are crafted to make students solve problems. What students learn is not just about a topic, it’s about how to solve problems,” Hassan stated.
“I challenge our learners: you are here to solve the problems of this nation. See this competition as problem-solving, not just individual problems. As a nation, we must move beyond self-interest and engage in critical thinking to resolve the crises facing our country. Nigeria must rise again, and everybody, including the younger generation, must participate”, he said.
