As the world marks World Teachers’ Day on October 5, the Nigeria Union of Teachers and All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Public Schools, have called on the government to provide infrastructure, learning materials for basic and secondary schools across the country.
The duo insisted that despite the numerous challenges they face in the profession and the country at large, they remain committed to celebrating their resilience and perseverance in working under difficult conditions.
According to a statement on The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation website in 2024, World Teachers’ Day will focus on the theme “Valuing teacher voices: Towards a new social contract for education.”
It added that the year’s celebrations would emphasise the pivotal role that teachers played in shaping the future of education and the urgent need to incorporate their perspectives into educational policy and decision-making processes.
The National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, stressed that teachers deserved to be celebrated globally for their dedication, especially while working under stressful conditions.
He urged the government to provide adequate infrastructure and learning materials in basic and secondary schools across the country.
“Teachers deserve to be celebrated globally. As we reflect on their contributions, it’s important for teachers to also recognize their achievements through the impact they’ve had on their employers, their students, and themselves. Teachers consistently add value to society, but the question remains: is the compensation they receive commensurate with the value they provide?
“Teachers should be well taken care of, especially now that local government allocations are autonomous. Local governments have no excuse for not paying primary school teachers on time. We also expect the minimum wage to be paid to all teachers, as some are still struggling with the ₦30,000 wage in primary schools.
“Society should not take teachers for granted. We go to school every day, and in rural areas, the conditions are even more challenging—pupils sit on bare floors, classrooms are overcrowded, and primary classes one to three are often crammed into a single room.
“The government must invest in infrastructure and provide essential learning materials like chalk, boards, books, and pens. It’s demoralizing for teachers to use their meagre salaries to buy these supplies. If the government does not invest more in education, there will be little progress.”
He lamented that during the October 5, 2020, World Teachers, Day, former President Mohammed Buhari, made about 13 juicy promises for teachers, saying none had been fulfilled.
On October 5, 2020, during the celebration of World Teachers’ Day, former President Muhammadu Buhari made several key promises to Nigerian teachers aimed at improving their welfare and the education sector. These promises were part of broader efforts to recognise the critical role teachers play in national development. Here are the notable commitments he made; Special Salary Scale for Teachers, an increase in years of service, Special Teacher Pension Scheme, a housing scheme for teachers, special allowances for rural posting, free tuition and automatic admission for teachers’ children, scholarship opportunities for teachers who wish to pursue higher education, fast-tracking of promotions, provision of training and retraining, enhanced education management system,
automatic employment for graduates, and reduction of teaching qualification requirements, building and renovation of schools.
Ike-Ene said, “In 2020, former President Muhammadu Buhari made 13 promises to teachers during World Teachers’ Day, but I doubt if even three have been fulfilled. The government needs to implement policies that will truly uplift education. Despite these challenges, we will celebrate because teaching is a noble profession.
The National President of the All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Public Schools, Mr. Musa Ibrahim, reiterated that the economic, political, and security challenges in the country would not deter them from celebrating their resilience.
Ibrahim said, “Nigeria’s backwardness will not stop us from celebrating. We are celebrating our perseverance and resilience in working despite having so little. If we don’t celebrate ourselves, no one else will. We will continue to encourage our teachers to persevere because we cannot stop teaching. Our children need education, even in the face of these challenges.
“There is nothing new we want to tell the government that they do not already know. The issue is that none of the problems we have raised have ever been resolved. Some of these were even part of the government’s campaign promises, yet nothing has been done.”