In a statement on Sunday, 1 November, the institute described the reach of a programme already on UNESCO-UNEVOC’s shortlist. What can a teenager who struggles with a written test show a teacher by making a video, sewing a garment or preparing a meal? A holiday programme in Oyo State built around that question is a finalist for an international vocational education award. UNESCO-UNEVOC lists Summer School at Twim Institute among three contenders in its Resourceful Innovation category.
The category recognises training providers that find ways to teach effectively despite constraints such as limited funding or infrastructure. The other finalists in the category are a Brazilian technical education exhibition and FanikishaHUB, a Kenyan initiative. The international centre lists four categories, each with three finalists. The Nigerian programme has reached the final stage in one of those categories.
The institute offers public secondary school students free activities during long holidays. Chief executive Olumide Adeleye said in a statement reported on 2 November that the programme began in 2014 with about 20 students and had since reached more than 800 young people. Those figures describe participation over time. They are not a count of places available for a forthcoming class.
Sessions lasting five to eight weeks combine academic work with practical projects. Students tackle mathematics and vocabulary as well as media production, technology, fashion and cooking. A team making a video, for example, gives a teacher a different chance to see how a pupil explains an idea or contributes to shared work.
What it means for you: a family comparing holiday programmes can ask what a young person will actually make and what school subjects the work supports. The shortlist identifies an example in Oyo State. It provides no application deadline or promise of a place for an individual learner.
The organisers are due to announce the winners at an event in Berlin scheduled for 1–3 December. For now, the confirmed achievement is selection for the category final. The next decision belongs to the awards organisers.