The Call To Love Initiative (Call2Luv), a non-governmental organisation, has called for urgent support for teacher certification and stronger backing for low-cost schools serving underserved communities. The appeal was made by the founder, Omowunmi Akingbohungbe, during the organisation's 15th anniversary and the launch of the Affordable and Inclusive Education Index (AIEI) in Lagos on Saturday. She said the event marked a shift from direct intervention to evidence-driven reform aimed at improving learning outcomes for children in low-income areas. Akingbohungbe stressed that every child deserved quality education and dignity, urging stakeholders to invest in teachers and act on data. Abiola Salami, chairman of the anniversary planning committee, described education as the "oxygen of opportunity" and highlighted that Call2Luv had reached 2,000 children, trained 500 teachers, and supported 22 low-cost schools. He called for deeper commitment from partners and donors. Ronke Soyombo, registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), said the AIEI would enhance evidence-based decisions in education. She reiterated the federal government's target for all teachers to be licensed by December 2027 and announced a six-month hybrid certification pathway for teachers without education degrees. TRCN is also working to fund the certification of 100,000 teachers. Pilot findings from the AIEI revealed 95.3 per cent of teachers reported students' difficulty with fees, 61.5 per cent of teachers were uncertified, and 93.3 per cent wanted certification.
Omowunmi Akingbohungbe's pivot from charity to systemic reform through the AIEI marks a quiet but significant challenge to Nigeria's long-standing reliance on ad hoc educational interventions. By anchoring Call2Luv's next phase in data and certification advocacy, she positions a grassroots NGO as a credible voice in a sector typically dominated by federal inertia and donor-driven agendas. The fact that 61.5 per cent of teachers in low-cost schools remain uncertified, despite 93.3 per cent wanting certification, exposes a structural gap that goodwill alone cannot fix.
This moment reflects a deeper crisis in Nigeria's education economy: a vast informal teaching workforce holding up the only schools accessible to millions, yet operating without recognition or support. The TRCN's 2027 licensing deadline and the proposed hybrid certification pathway acknowledge this reality, but the real test lies in execution. Akingbohungbe's shift to evidence-based advocacy leverages data not just for reform, but as a tool for legitimacy in a system that often dismisses community-led initiatives.
For parents in low-income communities, the implications are direct—certified teachers could mean better learning outcomes, but only if schools survive the financial strain of reform. The finding that 95.3 per cent of teachers see students struggling with fees suggests certification efforts may collapse without parallel funding. Thousands of children in unlicensed schools are caught in the gap between policy ambition and lived reality.
This story fits a growing pattern: Nigerian civil society stepping into governance vacuums not with protests, but with data, pilot projects, and quiet institution-building. Call2Luv's journey from helping a single deaf boy to launching an education index mirrors a broader shift—Nigeria's most durable reforms may no longer come from Abuja, but from Lagos living rooms, school compounds, and the quiet persistence of those who count the unseen.
