Wisdom International School of Excellence (WISE), an independent kindergarten to secondary school in Abuja, has been named in the top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best School Prizes 2024.
The five World’s Best School Prizes, founded by T4 Education, in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, and the Lemann Foundation, are the world’s most prestigious education prizes and this year’s winners will share $50,000 prize fund.
Wisdom International School of Excellence, which tackled the health crisis of open defecation, was named in the top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best School Prize for Overcoming Adversity.
The five World’s Best School Prizes – for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives – were introduced in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic to give a platform to schools that are changing lives in their classrooms and far beyond their walls, sharing their best practices to help improve education.
The winner of each prize would be chosen based on rigorous criteria by a judging academy, comprising seasoned academics, educators, non-governmental organisations, social entrepreneurs, and the private sector.
In addition, all 50 shortlisted schools for the five prizes will also take part in a public vote, which opens today.
The school with the most public votes would receive the Community Choice Award and membership to T4 Education’s Best School to Work programme, to support teachers’ wellbeing, and solve issues of recruitment and retention.
Founder of T4 Education, Vikas Pota, noted that unless the challenges confronting global education, including learning gaps, underfunding and growing teacher well-being, recruitment and retention crisis are addressed, the present crop of leaders would have failed the next generation.
“Trailblazing Nigerian schools like Wisdom International School of Excellence, which has cultivated a strong culture, showed the difference that could be made to so many lives,” Pota stated.
The top three finalists for each of the prizes would be announced in September,while winners would emerge in November.
Each winner will receive an award of $10,000, while the winner of the Community Choice award, as determined by public votes, would receive membership to Best School to Work – an independent, evidence-based mechanism to certify schools for their culture and working environment. Membership comes with detailed feedback, actionable insights, and benchmarking data to help schools transform their culture to attract and retain best teachers.
Established in 2013, WISE integrates practical-based learning with a strong emphasis on sustainability and community development.
At the heart of WISE’s transformative impact is the Tudun-Wada eco-toilet water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) project. This student-led initiative has drastically reduced open defecation from 75 to below 20 per cent, improving community health standards and enhancing access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
