The federal government has called on state governments to prioritise the recruitment, training, remuneration and welfare of early childhood educators and caregivers, saying the quality of Nigeria’s foundational learning depends largely on the workforce serving children in their earliest years.
The federal coordinator of the Human Capital Development (HCD) Programme and National Early Childhood Development (ECD) Focal Point, Dr. Ado Muhammad, made the call in Abuja, in commemoration of the 2026 World Teachers’ Day.
The 2026 World Teachers’ Day is being celebrated under the theme, “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures.” The theme commemorates the 60th anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
Muhammad said Nigeria’s efforts to improve foundational learning must begin with those teaching and caring for children before they enter primary school.
He said, “When we talk about foundational learning, we are talking about the teacher in the pre-primary class, the caregiver in the crèche and the early childhood educator in the community learning centre.
“These are the professionals who shape the first 2,000 days of a child’s life. As we strive to make every Nigerian child ready by five, the training and welfare of the people who teach them is a priority.”
According to him, Nigeria has about 92,000 public and private early childhood care, development and education (ECCDE) centres, making the quality and capacity of the workforce critical to improving learning outcomes.
He said the federal government recognises that quality early childhood education depends on a workforce that is adequately trained, fairly remunerated, supported and properly supervised.
Muhammad, therefore, urged state governments to recruit and train early childhood workers, pay them fair and competitive salaries, protect their professional autonomy and ensure manageable workloads.
He also called on the states to provide dedicated and coded budget lines for early childhood development in their annual budgets.
He urged State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) to address teacher shortages in pre-primary schools and provide continuous professional development, including digital skills and preparedness for climate-related disruptions to learning.
He further called on local governments and Ward Development Committees to recognise early childhood educators as members of ward-level early years teams.
Private early childhood education providers, he said, should adhere to national quality and workforce standards, while development partners, the private sector and communities should align their interventions around a common results framework for early years development.
Muhammad said the call was particularly important as teaching globally faces new pressures, including rapid technological changes, climate disruption, heavy workloads and persistent teacher shortages.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) estimates that the world will need 44 million additional teachers by 2030.
He said the 60th anniversary of the international recommendation on teachers’ status provided an opportunity for Nigeria to renew its commitment to the professionals responsible for laying the foundation for children’s future.
“Sixty years after the world agreed on what teachers are owed, our task in Nigeria is to extend that promise to the teachers of our youngest children. Standing with teachers means standing with the child,” he said.
Muhammad commended teachers across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, particularly those working in early childhood settings, for their dedication to laying the foundation for Nigeria’s human capital development.
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