By Victor Ahiuma-Young
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal and State Governments to prioritize teachers’ welfare by implementing a living wage, better funding public education, and enforcing the rights of teachers in private schools to join unions.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, made the call in Abuja during the 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration themed “Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession.” He said Nigeria must invest deliberately in education to rescue the system from decay and reposition teachers for national development.
“The international theme for this year—‘Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession’—resonates deeply with our Nigerian reality. Yet, we must confront the foundational crisis that has long bedeviled our education system, a crisis that has kept teachers on the fringes of society despite being the key drivers of national development,” Ajaero stated.
He said the global teacher crisis highlighted by UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF, and Education International is Nigeria’s everyday reality, lamenting that the country is facing “a severe shortage of qualified teachers, an alarming brain drain, and a system where professional isolation has become the norm.”
“Few realize that trained and qualified teachers are increasingly scarce in Nigeria because we have allowed untrained individuals to fill our classrooms without adequate preparation,” he added.
The NLC President decried the high teacher-to-student ratio in Nigeria’s schools, describing it as “alarming and counterproductive.” He said an average teacher in the country’s public schools handles up to 50 pupils or students, which, according to him, undermines the learning environment.
“Teaching is inherently collaborative, and it has become crucial that we develop an effective national framework to bridge this gap—training and certifying unqualified personnel to improve learning outcomes. The truth remains: while many people can teach something, not everyone is a teacher,” he said.
Ajaero condemned what he described as the hypocrisy of society towards teachers, saying Nigeria glorifies them in speeches but impoverishes them in reality.
“In Nigeria, we have perfected the art of praising teachers to high heavens while starving them on earth. We extol the nobility of the teaching profession yet reward that nobility with indignity, dishonor, and scorn. We acknowledge that teachers hold the key to our nation’s future, yet we confine them to a present filled with struggle, neglect, and near-starvation,” he lamented.
He further questioned why tuition and levies in schools continue to rise while teachers’ salaries remain stagnant.
“Where does this money go? It certainly does not reach the teacher in the classroom. This injustice strikes at the very heart of our educational system. If we truly desire quality education, we must first ensure a decent quality of life for our teachers,” he said.
The NLC President urged governments at all levels to make deliberate and sustained investments in education, stressing that countries such as China, India, and several Western nations made progress only after prioritizing education.
“Our schools must be better funded—because therein lies our future. Every nation that has achieved sustainable progress has laid its foundation on quality education. Whatever we do, we must put our money where our mouth is—in education,” Ajaero emphasized.
He linked the welfare of teachers directly to the quality of education they provide.
“A teacher burdened by hunger, rent, and transport worries cannot be a fountain of creativity and inspiration. You cannot give what you do not have. The rewards of teaching must not be postponed to heaven—they must be delivered here on earth,” he said.
Recalling his own experience as a classroom teacher, Ajaero said he understood the struggles educators face daily.
“I began my journey as a trained teacher—standing in a classroom surrounded by eager students. I know firsthand the challenges, frustrations, and triumphs of that calling. If Nigeria must grow, we must grow the teaching profession,” he said.
He outlined key demands of the NLC, including recognition of teaching as the “queen of all professions,” increased education funding to meet UNESCO’s 6% of GDP and 20% of total public expenditure benchmark, and improved collaboration among teachers based on dignity and fair compensation.
“A well-remunerated and motivated teaching workforce is the non-negotiable foundation upon which sustainable societies are built,” he declared.
Ajaero also drew attention to the plight of teachers in private schools, who he said are among the most exploited workers in Nigeria.
“They are grossly marginalized—denied the national minimum wage, health insurance, pensions, and severance benefits. Although a union exists to protect these workers, many private school owners—powerful and well-connected—shield themselves from obeying the law, just like the Dangote-style impunity we see elsewhere,” he said.
He called on the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) to collaborate with unions in the private education sector to ensure decent working conditions.
“In the spirit of this year’s theme, we urge NUT to collaborate with private school teachers to make their work more rewarding. Next year, when we mark another World Teachers’ Day, we expect to see them among us,” Ajaero urged.
The labour leader also tasked the Ministers of Labour and Education with ensuring that private school teachers enjoy their constitutional right to unionize, as guaranteed by ILO Conventions 87 and 98 and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“On this World Teachers’ Day, let us make a collective vow: to fight for the teacher, to secure their present, and by doing so, to secure Nigeria’s future.
“Long live the Nigerian teacher! Long live Nigerian workers! Long live the Nigeria Labour Congress! A people united can never be defeated; workers united can never be defeated!”
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