World Teachers’ Day: Why Nigeria Must Invest More in the People Shaping Its Future

Every October 5, the world pauses to celebrate teachers — the people who teach us mathematics, literature and grammar, but also discipline, confidence, ambition and, sometimes, how to sit properly in a classroom.

But World Teachers’ Day 2026 is also an opportunity to look beyond the greetings and appreciation posts and ask a more important question: Are societies doing enough to support the people entrusted with educating the next generation?

Teachers sit at the foundation of almost every profession. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, journalists, pilots and even politicians all begin their journeys with teachers helping them acquire the knowledge and skills they need.

Their influence, however, extends beyond academic lessons. Teachers can shape a child’s confidence, character, ambitions and understanding of the world.

The scale of the challenge is global. According to UNESCO, the world is projected to face a shortage of 44 million teachers by 2030, highlighting the growing pressure on education systems to attract, train and retain educators.

Nigeria’s teacher shortage remains a major concern

In Nigeria, the challenges facing teachers are particularly significant.

The country’s educators work in environments that can include overcrowded classrooms, inadequate teaching materials, poor infrastructure and pay that may not adequately reflect the responsibility placed on them.

A 2024 UNICEF Nigeria situation analysis cited in the source material estimates that the country needs an additional 194,876 qualified teachers in basic education.

The pressure is particularly visible in classroom sizes.

Public primary schools reportedly have an average teacher-to-pupil ratio of about 1:47, compared with a national policy target of 1:35.

In some northern states, the situation is considerably more difficult, with ratios exceeding 1:52. In parts of Jigawa and Katsina, the ratio is reported to reach as high as 1:105.

For teachers working in such environments, the challenge goes beyond delivering lessons. Managing large numbers of pupils while maintaining attention, discipline and learning outcomes can place enormous demands on educators.

When passion is not enough

Another issue is the financial reality of the profession.

A study published in the International Journal of Educational Development, examining teacher pay across 15 African countries, found that Nigerian teachers earned a median of about $230 per month in purchasing-power-adjusted terms in the survey data.

The figure compared with about $402 for managers and $368 for clerical workers with secondary education.

The researchers also found that teachers in almost every country examined were more likely to have a second job.

That finding points to a wider problem: commitment to education cannot, on its own, compensate for inadequate economic security.

The challenge is therefore not simply about increasing salaries. It is about making teaching a profession people can enter, remain in and feel proud to build a career around.

That requires competitive pay, quality professional training, functioning classrooms, opportunities for career progression and a meaningful voice for teachers in education policy.

UNESCO also identifies poor working conditions, uncompetitive pay, heavy workloads and inadequate social recognition among the major challenges facing the teaching profession.

Appreciation must go beyond one day

World Teachers’ Day often comes with messages of gratitude, photographs, celebrations and simple reminders of the teachers who made a difference in our lives.

Those gestures matter.

But appreciation becomes more meaningful when it is matched by action.

Governments have a responsibility to develop stronger education policies and improve teachers’ working conditions. Parents and communities also have a role to play by respecting the profession and recognising the responsibility teachers carry every day.

Society, too, must move away from the perception that teaching is simply an option for people who could not find another career.

For many people, the teacher who corrected their grammar, encouraged their confidence, disciplined them for talking in class or simply told them they could become something great may have done much more than teach a subject.

They helped shape the person that student eventually became.

So, on World Teachers’ Day 2026, the message should be bigger than “Happy Teachers’ Day”.

If teachers help build the future, then investing in teachers is ultimately an investment in that future.

And that deserves more than a mug, a handshake and one day of appreciation.

Happy World Teachers’ Day.

 

 

Awobajo Soliat

Written by Boom RadioNG