As Nigeria joins the global community in celebrating World Teachers’ Day, the urgent need to transform both the perception and realities of the teaching profession has never been more pressing.
The annual celebration, observed every year on October 5, serves as a reminder of the invaluable role teachers play in shaping the future.
This year’s theme; “Valuing Teacher Voices: Towards a New Social Contract For Education,” focused on the urgency of calling for and attending to teachers’ voices to address their challenges but, most importantly, to acknowledge and benefit from the expert knowledge and input that they bring to education.
It reestablish the need for Nigeria to focus on fostering an environment that not only attracts passionate individuals to the teaching profession but also supports and retains skilled educators by prioritising teachers’ welfare ensuring competitive salaries, robust benefits, and professional development opportunities.
Unfortunately, in Nigeria, teachers
have continue lament the governments inability to fulfill its promise made years back regarding teacher welfare packages while the profession continues to face huge challenges.
Although, President Bola Tinubu had assured that his administration would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that teachers’ welfare, in particular, and quality education, most of the challenges remain unattended to.
In 2020, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari used the 2020 World Teachers’ Day to acknowledge the low status of teachers and announce the approval of welfare packages aimed at revitalizing and repositioning the education sector for greater service delivery in the country.
The incentives include the payment of a Special Salary Scale for teachers in basic and secondary schools, the reintroduction of a bursary award for education students in universities and colleges of education, a special teachers’ pension scheme to retain experienced talent in the profession, as well as extending the retirement age for teachers, free tuition, and automatic admission for the biological children of teachers, among others.
However, with most of these commitments still unimplemented, teachers have voiced their frustration, urging authorities to take immediate action.
The National President of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Titus Amba stated that poor funding and inadequate investment in education constitute major barriers to the effective implementation of educational policies and programs in Nigeria.
“It is worrisome to observe that four years later, most of the approvals remain unimplemented. We hereby call on both federal and state governments to ensure full implementation of the approved incentives to boost the morale of teachers in their professional duties.”
He also noted that teacher shortages are a major challenge confronting education systems around the world, including Nigeria, emphasizing that the situation in junior and senior secondary schools, especially in rural communities, is discouraging.
Regarding the harmonised retirement age for teachers, he expressed gratitude to the federal government and the National Assembly for enacting the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, which provides for the retirement of teachers upon reaching 65 years of age or completing 40 years of service.
“We are pleased to note that 23 states, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and the federal government have implemented the new retirement age for their teachers. May I use this opportunity to urge the remaining states to ensure the implementation of the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers without further delay, as this will not only allow schools to benefit from the services of experienced teachers but also help address the manpower needs caused by a high rate of retirements without corresponding recruitment to fill the gaps.”
Meanwhile, the former Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, has called on the Federal Government to establish a National Teachers’ and Caregiver’s Welfare Commission to address the challenges facing educators in the country.
Ajiboye emphasised the need for greater attention to be paid to the welfare of teachers and caregivers, while expressing concern over the worsening state of the teaching profession in Nigeria.
He also urged relevant authorities to take decisive action, including creating platforms that allow teachers to actively participate in shaping educational policy, curriculum design and school governance.
According to him, teachers should be involved in policy-making processes, and platforms must be developed to ensure their voices are heard, adding that mechanisms should also be created to gather teacher feedback on ongoing professional development programmes to help educators enhance their teaching skills.
He further recommended the establishment of professional communities where teachers could collaborate, share experiences, and develop innovative teaching methods.
Such collaboration, he noted, would foster continuous learning and improve the overall quality of education.
Ajiboye also advocated for a structured system where educators could provide feedback on educational reforms and policies.
He encouraged the government to promote leadership opportunities for teachers within their schools and communities through mentorship programmes and training in advocacy skills, even as he harped on the need for government to meet the welfare of teachers and caregiver’s.
“Establish a national teachers’ and caregiver’s Welfare Commission where attention would be given to these two distinct categories of educators,” he said.
Additionally, Ajiboye urged the government to increase funding for education infrastructure, revise teacher welfare policies, and launch a nationwide recruitment campaign to attract more individuals into the teaching profession.
Expressing concern over the declining status of teachers in Nigeria, Ajiboye warned that the profession is becoming endangered due to poor treatment, lack of recognition, and dwindling interest among young Nigerians.
He noted that the exodus of experienced educators to other professions has further worsened the situation.
“Teaching, once regarded as a noble profession, is now facing an existential crisis in Nigeria. The alarming drop in interest in teaching as a career, along with the mass departure of qualified teachers, is a sign that urgent intervention is needed. It’s time to recognize the gravity of this issue and take immediate action to restore the dignity of teaching,” Ajiboye lamented.
