By Felix Khanoba
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to improving the welfare, professional development and working conditions of teachers as part of efforts to raise the standard of education across the country.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja at the 2026 World Teachers’ Day celebration and President’s Teachers’ and Schools’ Excellence Awards ceremony.
The event, organised under the theme, “Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing its Status and Shaping our Futures,” underscored the importance of sustained investment in teachers amid rapid technological advancement and changes in the education sector.
Alausa said teachers deserved professional respect, opportunities for career progression, adequate resources, fair recognition and conducive working conditions to enable them provide quality education.
He noted that the rapid growth of technology and artificial intelligence was transforming the way knowledge was accessed and utilised, stressing the need to equip teachers with the skills required to use emerging technologies responsibly and confidently.
According to him, technology could complement teaching and enhance learning but could not replace the judgement, encouragement and human connection offered by skilled teachers.
“We must equip teachers to use new tools responsibly and confidently, while safeguarding the standards and values of this most important profession,” he said.
The minister said the Federal Government’s education renewal initiatives under President Bola Tinubu were aimed at improving learning environments, strengthening institutions, providing skills required for a changing economy, ensuring reliable data for policy decisions and enhancing teachers’ welfare and professional development.
He said the government would continue to work with state governments, school administrators, professional associations, organised labour, development partners, communities and parents to improve the conditions under which teachers work.
Alausa stressed that every teacher, whether working in an urban school or a remote community, should have access to the tools and support needed to help learners succeed.
He described the President’s Teachers’ and Schools’ Excellence Awards as an avenue for recognising teachers, school administrators and schools that had demonstrated professionalism, innovation and leadership.
The minister congratulated the award recipients and urged them to maintain the standards that earned them the recognition, assuring other teachers that their contributions to the development of Nigerian children remained valued.
“Every lesson you prepare, every child you encourage and every young person whose confidence you build matters to Nigeria’s future,” he said.
Alausa also acknowledged that the Federal Government could not strengthen the teaching profession alone, stressing the importance of sustained collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
“Your service calls for more than words of thanks on one day each year. It calls for sustained respect, investment and partnership through each day of the year,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Audu Amba, represented by the National Deputy President, Kizito Kalu, called for stronger measures to improve teachers’ welfare, working conditions and professional standing.
Amba described teachers as critical agents of social and economic development and called for the implementation of the special salary scale for teachers approved in 2022.
“We call for the implementation of the special salary scale for teachers approved in 2022, which will improve their morale and restore dignity to the teaching profession,” he said.
He also advocated the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers, continuous professional development, improved teaching resources and enhanced security for teachers and pupils.
Amba further opposed the concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association, describing the arrangement as a threat to public education, teachers’ employment security and professional rights.
“While recognising the contributions of old students, the NUT strongly opposes transferring the management of King’s College, Lagos, to a private association,” Amba said.
Also speaking, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Abel Enitan, said teachers remained central to the development of Nigeria’s human capital and the effectiveness of public institutions.
“Every profession and institution depends, directly or indirectly, on the quality of education provided by teachers,” Enitan said.
He said the Federal Government was strengthening teacher professionalisation through an accelerated pathway towards qualified, certified and licensed teaching.
Enitan added that the harmonised retirement age for teachers had been implemented, while the process of recruiting and permanently absorbing more than 3,035 Parent-Teacher Association teachers was nearing completion.
He also highlighted the Federal Ministry of Education’s e-Learn platform, which he said was providing curriculum-aligned resources to support teachers in classroom instruction.
Enitan urged teachers to uphold professionalism, integrity and dedication to duty, while calling on stakeholders to continue supporting the teaching profession.
“Investing in teachers is investing in Nigeria’s future,” he said.
The ceremony also featured the presentation of awards to outstanding individuals and states, with Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, receiving the Federal Government’s Most Outstanding Governor in Contribution to Education award.
In his acceptance speech, Aiyedatiwa expressed appreciation to the Federal Ministry of Education, Alausa, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmad, and other stakeholders for contributing to the success of the celebration.
The governor dedicated the award to teachers across Ondo State, describing their daily sacrifices as foundational to the development of the state.
Aiyedatiwa, who disclosed that he had previously worked as a teacher, said the experience remained an important part of his understanding of governance and the responsibility of standing before young minds to make knowledge meaningful to them.
He said education remained a long-term investment in the character, capacity and productive strength of the people of Ondo State, adding that the conviction was firmly embedded in his administration’s seven-pillar OUR EASE development agenda.
Also at the event, Mrs Mary Adebayo received a car prize as the Best Teacher of the Year, while Nasarawa State emerged first in the Teachers’ Day march-past.
Other outstanding teachers were also presented with various prizes in recognition of their contributions to the education sector.
