World Teachers’ Day: NLC Calls for Improved Salaries and Increased Education Funding in Nigeria

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned that the country’s future is seriously threatened by the Federal Government’s continuous disregard for the teaching profession and has urged it to greatly boost education spending and enhance the welfare of educators nationwide.

During the World Teachers’ Day celebration in Abuja, NLC President Joe Ajaero made the appeal, calling teachers the “queens of all professions” who, in spite of their crucial role in nation-building, continue to face low pay, unfavorable working conditions, and a lack of respect.

Teachers continue to be the most underappreciated and undernourished profession, despite society’s lavish adulation for them, according to Ajaero.

“Teachers are starved on earth but praised in heaven.”

Ajaero called for the Federal Government to adhere to the UNESCO standard, which states that nations should devote at least 6% of their GDP and 20% of their public spending on education.

According to him, Nigeria’s present investment is well below this level, which results in a severe teacher shortage, packed classrooms, and deteriorating educational standards.

He claimed that the lack of teaching aids, the bad working conditions for instructors, and the deteriorating morale of educators are all consequences of our impoverished educational system.

According to reports, the president of the NLC emphasized that increasing investment in education involves more than simply building infrastructure; it also entails developing human capital, which starts with highly qualified and driven educators.

Ajaero also denounced the abuse of teachers in private schools, claiming that many of them are overworked, underpaid, and denied basic labor rights including union representation, social protection, and pensions.

In accordance with the Nigerian Constitution and International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions 87 and 98, he urged the Minister of Education and the Minister of Labor and Employment to implement legislation that ensures private school teachers have the freedom to organize and join unions.

According to Ajaero, “private school teachers are among the most exploited workers in this country.”

“The same laws that protect all other Nigerian workers must also protect them.”

The labor leader cautioned that a large number of teachers are leaving the field in search of higher-paying positions overseas or in other sectors due to a lack of adequate compensation and professional assistance.

“What you do not have, you cannot give.” It is impossible to expect teachers who lack the necessary resources to provide high-quality instruction, according to Ajaero.

“Our children’s and the nation’s futures are in jeopardy if we keep going in this direction.”

In order to retrain underqualified teachers, encourage ongoing professional development, and lower the nation’s high student-teacher ratio—which, he claimed, is significantly higher than international norms in many public schools—he called for a national framework.

“The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse Teacher Shortages” was the global topic for this year’s World Teachers’ Day.

According to Ajaero, the issue is especially pertinent to Nigeria, where there is a severe teacher shortage in many schools, particularly in disadvantaged and rural areas.

As part of larger reforms to revitalize Nigeria’s educational system, he called on all tiers of government to show political will by giving teachers’ welfare, frequent training, and on-time salary payments top priority.

Putting money into educators is an investment in the future. “No nation can surpass the caliber of its educators,” he said.