World Teachers’ Day: NUT laments man-power crisis in education with shortage of 194,876 teachers

…demands enhanced salary structure for teachers

…warns against commercialisation of education

The leadership of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on both Federal and State Governments to take bold and urgent action to address the plight of teachers through implementation of an enhanced salary structure and robust welfare packages for primary and secondary school teachers across the country.

The Union also expressed concern about what it described as alarming man-power crisis in primary and secondary schools with shortage of more than 194,876 teachers across the country.

President of NUT, Comrade Titus Amba, made the call on Sunday in his address during celebration of World Teachers’ Day held at Eagle Square, Abuja, where he urged all tiers of Government to ensure that the right number and quality of teachers are employed to promote effective education delivery and improve learning outcomes in the nation’s school system.

He noted that the theme of 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration focuses on “Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession”, saying this highlights the vital role teachers play in education systems and in societies at large.

Amba lamented the low status of teachers and poor conditions under which they work, despite teachers being the soul of any education system emphasising that proper status of teachers and due public regard for teaching profession are of major importance for the full realization of educational aims and objectives.

He added that apart from low remuneration and difficulties some teachers face daily in the discharge of their duties, some state governments have refused to implement the N70,000 new national minimum wage approved by the Federal Government.

Amba called for improved remuneration and welfare of teachers to make the teaching profession more attractive for younger generations and to create National Commissions to tackle teacher shortages.

He stated: “The wellbeing of teachers is crucial to attract and retain teachers in the profession and tackle the teacher shortage. It is also central to the realization of the right to quality education for all.

“It was in recognition of the low status of teachers and the poor conditions under which they work that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari approved some welfare packages for teachers with a view to repositioning the education sector for greater service delivery in the country. Some of the approved incentives include: Special salary scale for teachers in Basic and Secondary Schools and harmonized Retirement age of 65 years and 40 years of service for teachers.

“Reintroduction of Bursary Award for students studying education in Universities and Colleges of Education; building of low-cost houses for teachers in rural areas; provision of loan facilities for agriculture, housing, cars, motorcycles and others to support teachers’ earnings; and free tuition and automatic admission for biological children of teachers.

“It is worrisome to note that apart from the new retirement age for teachers which has been implemented by 22 States and the FCT, most of the approvals made in 2020 are yet to be implemented.

“We hereby call on both Federal and State Governments to ensure full implementation of these approved incentives for teachers to promote their effectiveness and quality learning outcomes in our school system,” he stated.

On shortage of teachers, the NUT President maintained if the acute challenge of teacher shortage is not addressed, it would impede Nigeria’s efforts aimed at realisation of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) by 2030.

He said: “The shortage of teachers has become a major challenge to education systems of nations around the world, having direct implications on the quality of education. UNESCO’S Global Reports on Teachers and Early childhood care and Education (2024) indicate a shortage of about 44 million primary and secondary education teachers and at least 6 million pre-primary education teachers to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) by 2030.

“In Nigeria, available statistics reveal an alarming man-power crisis in primary and secondary schools especially in the rural areas. According to UBEC (2024) there is a shortage of 194,876 teachers in public primary schools across the country.

“The situation in the secondary education sub-sector is also not encouraging. Shortage of teachers in our schools undermines the nation’s commitment to providing quality education for all in line with SDG 4,” he stated.

The NUT President also decried the removal of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) from benefiting from Federal Government’s annual budgetary allocation.

He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to revisit the issue of delisting the TRCN among other regulatory bodies from Government funding and to ensure that the Council benefits from the national budget in order to provide the needed empowerment and support for the TRCN to strengthen the teaching profession for greater service delivery and productivity.

He warned against privatization and commercialization of education in Nigeria, saying it was worrisome that some Governments are adopting policies that promote privatization and commercialization of education through handover of schools to missions and voluntary agencies, rather than building and maintaining public schools that would provide the needed access and cater for the interest of all children, including the less-privileged and the vulnerable, especially the girl-child, children with disabilities and those living in rural areas.

“It is important to state that privatization of education in any guise creates disparities in educational opportunities and social inequalities, and as such negates our collective desire and commitment, as a nation, to provide compulsory, free, universal basic education for all.

“The NUT therefore frowns on the recent handover of some schools by the Edo State Government to missions and calls on the government to rescind its decision and rise to its obligation of providing inclusive and equitable quality education for all children in the State,” Amba stated.

Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, in his remark, reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government to welfare of teachers, while acknowledging  the vital role of