‘Collaboration Will Salvage Nigeria’s Ailing Education Sector’

Ahead of the 2025 Teachers’ Day celebration, Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), has identified collaboration among teachers, government, parents and communities as the only way to save Nigeria’s ailing education sector.

Speaking with journalists in Osogbo, Osun State, ahead of the 2025 World Teachers’ Day, the National President of ASUSS, Comrade Sola Adigun, said the theme of this year’s celebration, “Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession,” underscores the urgent need for unity in tackling the nation’s education challenges.

“Teaching has never been a job for lone rangers. The progress of a child is determined not by the teacher alone, but also by parents, policymakers, communities, and government,” Adigun said. “True collaboration gives teachers a voice in shaping the future of education.”

He commended the Federal Ministry of Education for including ASUSS representatives in the expanded Governing Council of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), and praised the tuition-free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme as a model of effective partnership between policy and practice.

Adigun also recognised states like Ekiti and Bayelsa for pioneering tuition-free technical education, while applauding governments that respect teachers’ right to freely associate with ASUSS.

Despite these positive steps, the ASUSS president decried the failure of 16 states to implement the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, despite court rulings. He warned that such neglect undermines collaboration.

He further criticised the hurried implementation of the new 9-year Basic Education Curriculum without adequate teacher training or resources.

World Teachers’ Day is celebrated globally on October 5 to honour educators and spotlight the challenges facing the profession.