Teachers demand action on pay, jobs, security

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has urged governments at all levels to act on teachers’ welfare, recruitment, working conditions, professional development and security, warning that the education system cannot improve without supported and motivated teachers.

The union made the demand as Nigeria marked the 2026 World Teachers’ Day, which also commemorates the 60th anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. The theme was “Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing its Status and Shaping our Future.”

Speaking on Monday at the national celebration at Eagle Square, Abuja, NUT National President Comrade Audu Titus Amba, represented by his deputy, Elder Kalu Kizito, said teachers should be regarded not merely as implementers of policy but as nation builders who deserve proper recognition, remuneration and support.

The union’s demands cover better pay and welfare, improved working conditions, recruitment and retention, continuous professional development, responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI), greater teacher participation in policymaking and stronger security for teachers and pupils.

Salary structure remains major concern

A major concern is the delay in implementing the special salary structure approved for teachers in 2022. Amba said it had yet to take effect four years later and urged government to move beyond announcements and set up a clear implementation mechanism.

“A motivated teacher is an asset to national development,” he said.

The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) also called for a special salary structure recognising teaching as a distinct profession. Its National President, Comrade Olusola Adigun, said the 27.5 per cent increment approved for teachers had not been implemented in some states. He urged governments to attract “talented and highly qualified graduates” into teaching.

Recruitment gaps persist

The NUT also raised concern over teacher shortages, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach communities, saying some states had gone years without adequate recruitment, leaving teachers overworked. It called for sustained recruitment and incentives to retain teachers in underserved areas.

In Gombe, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, represented by the Chairperson of the State Teachers’ Service Commission, Mrs Naomi Philip Maiguwa, said more teachers would be recruited before the end of the year. He said his administration had recruited more than 1,000 teachers since 2019.

However, Gombe NUT Chairman Ali Baba Dalhatu called for payment of outstanding leave grants and full professional allowances, saying local government teachers receive only half. He also urged the state to extend service years from 35 to 40 and retirement age from 60 to 65.

In Akwa Ibom, Governor Umo Eno approved the recruitment of another 2,000 teachers, in addition to 1,000 recently employed, but cautioned that passing the computer-based test would not automatically guarantee employment.

Ekiti teachers marking World Teachers Day yesterday Photo: Raphael Ogbonnaiye

Welfare measures in the states

Eno also approved a N50,000 wardrobe allowance for each of the state’s 20,000 teachers and N500,000 for each of the 1,776 registered private schools to support their teachers. He declared a state of emergency in education and ordered a comprehensive review of the sector.

He said the state had released N15 billion as its SUBEB matching grant, intervened in over 100 schools, continued to pay teachers’ gratuities and paid examination fees for 172,000 students.

In Ekiti, Governor Biodun Oyebanji announced N70.5 million in rewards for outstanding teachers. He said the state had recruited 5,530 teachers in four years and equipped all 203 public secondary schools with ICT laboratories. The NUT and ASUSS commended the government but urged it to pay outstanding leave allowances and other entitlements.

In Lagos, Damilola Feyide, founder of Let It Shine Academy, a free private boarding school, described teachers as the “bedrock” of the school. Having occasionally taught, she said she knew what the job demands, “but they do this day in, day out.”

She said the school provides teachers with accommodation, feeding and health insurance, and organises training, quarterly team-bonding activities and retreats. “We just make sure that our teachers are looked after personally and professionally because you can’t give what you don’t have,” she said.

Infrastructure remains uneven

Despite such claims, infrastructure remains a concern. In Calabar, Cross River State, teachers and Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) officials lamented poor facilities. At Government Technical Secondary School, Ikot Effanga, stakeholders complained about inadequate toilets and furniture, while at Government Secondary School, Unwanse, residents said roofs, desks, doors and floors remained dilapidated despite a facelift for the entrance gate.

A teacher, Asuquo Edem, said there was little to celebrate because of the shortage of government-employed teachers. PTA chairman Clifford Akpan said parents had resorted to engaging teachers themselves. “We pay each of them N20,000,” he said.

The state Commissioner for Education, Senator Steven Odey, acknowledged the deficit, blaming years of underfunding and neglect. He said the state accessed N17.01 billion in UBEC intervention funds between 2023 and 2025.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has pledged to strengthen teachers’ welfare and working conditions.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said: “Teachers deserve professional respect, opportunities to develop throughout their careers, appropriate resources, fair recognition and good working conditions that enable them to teach well.”

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said teacher welfare and retention remained priorities, and that government was working towards a more coherent national system for teacher development and certification.

The NUT president, however, said teachers must be given digital devices, reliable internet, electricity and technical support before being expected to use emerging technologies. He called for training in digital pedagogy and the ethical use of AI. “Technology must empower the teacher, not diminish the teacher,” he said.

Alausa, on his part, agreed that such tools could help teachers tailor instruction but stressed that “the judgement, encouragement and human connection of a skilled teacher remain indispensable.”

Unity, command schools face challenges

Amba cited alleged restrictions on teachers seeking to join the NUT, stagnation of Education Officers at the directorate cadre for 13 to 15 years, non-payment of arrears and promotion benefits, and alleged denial of unionisation rights in some institutions under the Ministries of Defence and Police Affairs and the Department of State Services. He urged the Federal Ministry of Education to intervene.

The NUT also opposed the reported concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement, saying management of the school should not be transferred to a private association. It called for the arrangement to be reversed and for consultation with stakeholders.

Other states’ demands

In Kano, NUT Chairman, Baffa Ibrahim Garko, asked the state government to declare October 5 a public holiday. He commended Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf for regular salary payments and infrastructure projects but called for parity in pay and conditions between basic and post-primary teachers, improved allowances, more recruitment and payment of outstanding promotion benefits.

The FCT chairman of ASUSS, Julius Ogundiran, called for more teachers as existing personnel retire, and for housing, saying some teachers sleep in classrooms while others spend much of their income commuting. In Taraba, NUT Chairman Nathan Solomon asked the state to consider experienced teachers for appointment as permanent secretaries.

Teachers’ welfare: How far has gov’t kept its promises?

Successive Federal Governments have made several commitments on teachers’ welfare, pay and standing. Some have become policy or been partially implemented, while others remain largely unfulfilled, particularly for state-employed teachers.

The Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act extends retirement age from 60 to 65 and service years from 35 to 40. The NUT says about 22 states have domesticated it. Kaduna began implementation in August 2025, and Niger in January 2026, but more than a dozen states are yet to do so.

The Teachers’ Special Salary Scale, approved in 2022, has not been implemented for the vast majority of state-employed teachers.

By late 2026, the NUT had issued ultimatums to 19 states over outstanding salaries, citing Kogi (15 months of fractional pay), Benue (10), Bayelsa (about 8.5) and Ekiti (six). Ten states have only partially implemented the new minimum wage for teachers, while four have not.

Stakeholders also point to promised bursaries for education students that they said have yet to become a uniform national scheme.

Reports by: Jide Olusola, Maureen Onochie (Abuja); Iniabasi Umo (Uyo); Eyo Charles (Calabar); Salim Umar Ibrahim (Kano); Rabilu Abubakar, Haruna Gimba Yaya (Gombe); Raphael Ogbonnaiye (Ado-Ekiti); Magaji Isa Hunkuyi (Jalingo); Dotun Omisakin (Lagos)