Teachers welfare: Securing the future of education, attracting young educators
In 1994, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) designated Oct. 5, yearly, as World Teachers’ Day.
The gesture marked significant milestone in the history of the teaching profession and the world of education.
By the foregoing, the noble profession of teaching is celebrated annually both international and locally in recognition of the important role teachers play in the development of humanity and society.
Regrettably, the teaching profession in Nigeria is often considered the last option among admission and job seekers due to poor remuneration and others.
Against this backdrop, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has urged President Bola Tinubu to priotise teacher’s values and welfare to make the profession more attractive for the younger generation.
The National President of NUT, Comrade Audu Amba, said there was an urgent need for the government to make teachers a model and recognise the teaching profession as a pillar of societal advancement.
Amba frowns at the current situation where teaching is made a “Hobson’s choice” among admission and job seekers – an option not because it is your preferred choice, but because it is the only option available after others have been filled.
He said deliberate policies should be made to place the teacher’s seat in frontal rows of other professions and teaching profession a preferred choice for youths.
Amba said many students had little or no passion for the teaching profession and it was most demonstrated when a candidate scored low marks in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
According to him, when a candidate scores below the cut-off marks of first and second choice courses, he or she is often compelled to study education in order not to lose admission for the year.
“Today, in our secondary schools everybody is scrambling to get 300 and above in the UTME so that he or she can read medicine.
“The university system made it clear that before you read Medicine, you must score 300 marks and above; why are such rules not applicable to Education?
“Those students that want to read Medicine to become Doctor, who taught and will still teach them, is it not the teacher?,” he retorts.
He argued that if the teacher was not sound, he or she could not impact the needed knowledge and training the child needed to study medicine.
Amba urged the government to take cues from other countries like Finland where the teaching profession was highly valued, respected and made to attract many applicants.
He made reference to Finland which prioritised education and had systems that ensured teachers were respected professionals with a very high emolument and a strong sense of autonomy, stability and security in their work.
“In fact, if you go to Finland today, you will be proud to be called a teacher because the issue is that teaching is not just lucrative, but even more challenging.
“But today in Nigeria, parents do not even encourage their children to go into teaching, even the students themselves.’’
On teachers’ welfare, the NUT president said that the well-being of teachers was crucial to attract and retain teachers in the profession and tackle the teacher shortage.
He said it was also central to the realisation of the right to quality education for all.
He noted that it was in recognition of the low status of teachers and the poor conditions under which they worked that the Federal Government, under the former President, late Muhammadu Buhari, approved some welfare packages for teachers.
Amba said the gesture was aimed at repositioning the education sector for greater service delivery in the country.
He listed some of the approved incentives to include: Special Salary Scale for Teachers in Basic and Secondary, Harmonised Retirement age of 65 years and 40 years of service for teachers, and Reintroduction of Bursary Award for students studying education in universities and colleges of education
Others are building of low-cost houses for teachers in rural areas; provision of loan facilities for agriculture, housing, cars, motorcycles and others to support teachers’ earnings and free tuition and automatic admission for biological children of teachers.
“It is worrisome to note that apart from the new retirement age for teachers which have been implemented by 22 States and the FCT; most of the approvals made in 2020 are yet to be implemented,’’ he said.
He expressed concern over the poor implementation of the approved incentives for teachers by the former President.
On the National Minimum Wage, he noted with dismay that the New Minimum Wage signed into law on July 29th, 2024 had yet to be fully implemented for teachers.
He said that 10 states had not fully implemented the new minimum wage, while four states had not implemented at all for teachers.
According to him, out of this number, six states have partially implemented.
Amba, therefore, urged the government to put policies in place to change the trend and psyche by making the teacher a role model and encouraging its best to become a teacher, saying teachers were the soul of any education system.
Meanwhile, UNESCO’S Global Reports on Teachers and Early childhood care and Education (2024) indicates a shortage of about 44 million primary and secondary education teachers and at least 6 million pre-primary education teachers to meet the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) by 2030.
In Nigeria, available statistics reveal an alarming man-power crisis in primary and secondary schools especially in the rural areas.
According to UBEC (2024), there is a shortage of 194,876 teachers in public primary schools across the country.
The situation in the secondary education sub-sector is also not encouraging.
Educators argue that shortage of teachers in our schools undermines the nation’s commitment to providing quality education for all in line with SDG 4.
In response to the global teacher shortage, the United Nations High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession called on nations to make the teaching profession more attractive for younger generations and to create National Commissions to tackle teacher shortages.
According to International Labour Orgnisation and UNESCO (2008), proper status of teachers and due public regard for the teaching profession are of major importance for the full realisation of educational aims and objectives.
On prioritising teachers’ well-being, the Federal Government reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing teachers’ welfare and promoting collaboration among educators to strengthen learning outcomes nationwide.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, spoke at the 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration.
Alausa said that teachers remained the bedrock of human capital development and nation-building.
He added that rewarding their efforts is an investment in quality education, student achievement, and national progress.
“Our experience has shown that when teachers are supported to work together through peer mentoring, joint lesson planning, co-teaching and the use of digital platforms, learning outcomes improve, and teachers experience professional growth and fulfillment,” he said.
The minister explained that the ministry had implemented several policies to revitalise the teaching profession, including the National Teacher Policy, aimed at empowering and motivating teachers.
On her part, the minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, said the ministry was implementing several initiatives to promote collaboration and raise teacher quality.
Ahmad said the initiatives included the National Teacher Development Policy (2022) the Digital Literacy and Skills Framework and the establishment of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) across schools nationwide.
She said the efforts were in line with the Ministry’s commitment to raising teacher quality, professional pride, and overall learning outcomes.
In view of the aforesaid, educators around the world— Education International (EI), the global union federation of teachers and Education workers call on governments of nations around the world to adequately fund public education, invest in teachers and support them in creating a peaceful, fair and sustainable future for all.
Policy analysts say that teachers’ welfare is a catalyst for national development because it directly influences the quality of education, which in turn, builds the human capital essential for economic growth, social cohesion, and global competitiveness.
