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NLC urges FG to meet UNESCO education funding benchmark
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Says poor teacher welfare endangers future of Nigerian education
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Calls for union rights, fair wages, and training for unqualified teachers
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to increase spending on education and prioritise teacher welfare, warning that the continued neglect of the profession poses a grave threat to the country’s future.
Speaking during the World Teachers’ Day 2025 celebration in Abuja, NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero described teaching as the “queen of all professions” but lamented that teachers remain “praised to heaven but starved on earth.”
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“The paradox is stark: while society heaps praises on teachers, they remain the most neglected and starved profession,” Ajaero stated.
He urged the government to comply with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation that countries allocate at least 6% of GDP and 20% of public expenditure to education.
Nigeria Falling Behind Global Standards
Ajaero noted that Nigeria’s current investment in education falls far below the international benchmark, resulting in teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and poor learning outcomes.
He warned that without urgent reforms, Nigeria risks an escalation in the ongoing brain drain in the education sector, as teachers continue to migrate abroad in search of better pay and working conditions.
Private School Teachers Exploited
The NLC President also decried the exploitation of teachers in private schools, many of whom, he said, are denied basic rights, fair wages, and union representation.
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He urged the Ministers of Labour and Employment, and Education to ensure that private school teachers are allowed to unionise in line with the Nigerian Constitution and International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions 87 and 98.
“You cannot give what you do not have. Teachers who are not adequately trained, motivated, and supported cannot deliver quality education,” Ajaero warned.
Ajaero further called for a national framework to retrain unqualified teachers, expand professional development, and reduce the high pupil-to-teacher ratio in public schools.
He stressed that education reform must begin with the welfare and empowerment of teachers if Nigeria is to achieve lasting progress.
This year’s World Teachers’ Day was themed “The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse Teacher Shortages.”
