World Teachers’ Day: Union Laments 194,000 Teacher Shortage In Nigeria

As the world marked the World Teachers’ Day, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has expressed deep concern over what it described as a worsening crisis in the nation’s education sector, citing an alarming shortage of qualified teachers and unfulfilled government promises.

The National President of the NUT, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, spoke at the 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration held at the Eagle Square in Abuja, on Sunday.

He said available statistics from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) revealed a shortage of 194,876 teachers in public primary schools across the country.

“It is alarming that Nigeria has a shortage of 194,876 teachers in public primary schools across the country. The situation in our secondary schools is not encouraging either. This manpower crisis has grave implications for the quality of education and learning outcomes in our schools,” Amba stated.

He urged all tiers of government to address the teacher shortage decisively, warning that it undermines Nigeria’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on quality education for all.

“We add our voice to the global call to make teaching more attractive to younger generations. Government must employ the right number and quality of teachers to sustain effective education delivery in our school system.”

The NUT president also lamented that, despite promises made since 2020 to improve teachers’ welfare, many of the incentives approved by the Federal Government remained unimplemented.

“It is worrisome that apart from the new retirement age of 65 years, which has been implemented by 22 states and the FCT, most of the approved incentives have not been fulfilled.

“We call on both Federal and State Governments to fully implement these welfare packages to restore dignity and pride to the teaching profession,” he said.

Amba further criticised the delay in implementing the 2024 National Minimum Wage for teachers, stating that “as of today, ten states have not fully implemented the new minimum wage for teachers, while four have not implemented it at all.”

“We commend the states that have complied, but call on the defaulting ones to act swiftly in the interest of industrial harmony,” he added.

The World Teachers’ Day, organised under the theme “Recasting Teaching As A Collaborative Profession”, will be followed by the presentation of awards to deserving state governors, presentation of trophies to best March Past, presentation of President’s Teachers and School Excellence Awards, amongst others.