World Teachers’ Day 2026: Standing With Teachers To Rebuild Nigeria’s Education System

By Destiny Udodiri Akunesi

Theme: “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures

Monday, 5th October 2026

Every year on 5th October, the world celebrates World Teachers’ Day, a day set aside to recognise the invaluable contributions of teachers to education, human development and nation-building.

The 2026 celebration is particularly significant because it marks 60 years of the 1966 International Labour Organization
( ILO)/
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
(UNESCO) Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
The global theme, “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures,” calls attention to the need to protect, promote and elevate the status of teachers.

For Nigeria, this year’s celebration should go beyond ceremonies, speeches, gifts and social-media messages. It should provide an opportunity for serious reflection on the condition of the Nigerian teacher and the state of our education system.

Teachers are the foundation of every nation

There is hardly any profession that does not begin with the work of a teacher.

The doctor, lawyer, engineer, journalist, banker, politician, scientist, business executive, clergyman and even the teacher himself or herself was once taught by a teacher.

This is why the popular saying remains relevant:

> “No Teacher, No Nation.”



If we desire a prosperous, technologically advanced, peaceful and productive Nigeria, we must first build a strong education system—and a strong education system cannot exist without motivated, adequately trained, properly equipped and respected teachers.

UNESCO itself notes that well-trained, supported and valued teachers are essential to achieving quality education, while the global education system continues to face a major teacher shortage.

The Nigerian teacher deserves better

While we celebrate Nigerian teachers today, we must also acknowledge the challenges confronting many of them.

1. Shortage of teachers in some government schools

Some public schools continue to experience inadequate numbers of teachers, leaving available teachers with excessive workloads and making effective individual attention to students difficult.

Nigeria’s education statistics also reveal serious pressure on school infrastructure: the national learner-to-classroom ratio was 60.1, compared with the UBE minimum standard of 35.

Government at all levels must therefore prioritise the recruitment and equitable deployment of qualified teachers, particularly to underserved communities and schools.

2. Poor remuneration and welfare

A teacher who is expected to mould the future of millions of children should not be treated as though his or her profession has little value.

Teachers deserve competitive salaries, allowances, welfare packages and other incentives that reflect the importance of their responsibilities.

Where teachers’ basic salaries or other legitimate entitlements are delayed or not paid as and when due, it affects morale and can ultimately affect classroom performance.

A hungry, frustrated and financially distressed teacher is being asked to perform an extraordinarily difficult job under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.

3. Poor teaching and learning environments

It is difficult to demand excellent educational outcomes when teachers and students are working in inadequate environments.

Some schools need better classrooms, furniture, electricity, water, sanitation, libraries, laboratories, digital facilities and other basic learning infrastructure.

The working environment of the teacher is, in many ways, part of the learning environment of the child.

The working condition of the teacher is the learning condition of the student.

Therefore, investment in teachers must go hand in hand with investment in schools.

4. Basic teaching skills and instructional tools

Modern education is changing rapidly. The classroom of today is no longer the classroom of decades ago.

Teachers need access to appropriate textbooks, teaching aids, digital devices, internet connectivity, science equipment, educational software and other instructional resources.

They also need continuous exposure to modern teaching methodologies, classroom management techniques, digital literacy and innovative approaches to learning.

The Federal Ministry of Education’s current policy direction recognises capacity-building and teacher training as important components of improving teaching and learning.

5. Continuous training and professional development

Teacher education must not end when a teacher receives a certificate.

Teachers should be given regular opportunities for refresher courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, mentoring and professional development.

This is especially important as artificial intelligence, digital technology, new curricula and changing learning needs reshape education.

Nigeria is already pursuing initiatives aimed at teacher professionalisation and certification, including pathways for teachers who have academic qualifications but lack formal pedagogical training.

Continuous professional development should therefore become a normal and adequately funded part of the teaching profession.

Standing with teachers means listening to teachers

The 2026 theme challenges governments, education administrators, parents, communities and society to ask an important question:

Are we truly standing with our teachers?

Standing with teachers means more than celebrating them once a year.

It means listening to their concerns.

It means paying their salaries and legitimate entitlements on time.

It means providing safe and conducive schools.

It means reducing unreasonable workloads.

It means providing teaching and learning materials.

It means recruiting more qualified teachers where there are shortages.

It means providing continuous professional development.

It means protecting teachers from unnecessary humiliation and ensuring that their professional voice is heard in education policymaking.

UNESCO, the ILO, UNICEF and Education International have similarly called for governments and partners to advance the status of the profession and empower teachers to contribute to inclusive, peaceful and sustainable societies.

Government must make education a genuine priority

Nigeria cannot afford to treat education as an expense that can be postponed whenever there are competing priorities.

Education is an investment in the future of Nigeria.

Federal, state and local governments must work together to ensure:

Adequate recruitment and equitable deployment of teachers.

Prompt payment of teachers’ salaries and legitimate entitlements.

Improved remuneration and welfare.

Renovation and provision of conducive classrooms.

Adequate teaching and learning materials.

Digital and technological resources for schools.

Regular professional development and retraining.

Stronger teacher education and certification.

Better support and incentives for teachers working in underserved areas.

Greater respect for the professional voice of teachers.


The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria also identifies professional standards, continuous professional development and the dignity and welfare of Nigerian teachers among its priorities.

Parents and society also have a role

The responsibility for education does not belong to government alone.

Parents must respect teachers and cooperate with schools. Communities must protect school infrastructure. Private organisations and philanthropists can support educational development, while professional associations and civil society organisations can advocate for policies that improve the teaching profession.

Most importantly, society must restore the dignity and prestige of teaching.

A teacher should be seen not merely as someone who stands before a classroom, but as a nation-builder, character-builder, knowledge-builder and future-maker.

If you can write your name, thank your teacher

Behind every person who can read, write, calculate, reason, communicate and contribute meaningfully to society is a teacher who played a role in that journey.

Therefore:

If you can write your name, thank your teacher.

If you can read this article, thank your teacher.

If you have achieved something in life, remember the teachers who helped prepare you for that achievement.

And, as a reminder of the fundamental importance of education:

If you cannot write your name, look for a teacher


A call to action

On this World Teachers’ Day 2026, let Nigeria move from merely celebrating teachers to supporting teachers.

Let us move from applause to action.

Let us recruit where there are shortages.

Let us improve remuneration.

Let us pay salaries and legitimate entitlements when they are due.

Let us provide conducive teaching and learning environments.

Let us equip classrooms with the tools teachers need.

Let us train and retrain our teachers.

Let us listen to their voices.

Let us restore the dignity of the teaching profession.

Because when we stand with teachers, we stand with our children; when we invest in teachers, we invest in Nigeria’s future; and when we strengthen the classroom, we strengthen the nation.

Happy World Teachers’ Day 2026!

To every teacher in Nigeria and around the world: thank you for shaping minds, building character, nurturing dreams and preparing the leaders of tomorrow.

Teachers are great—No controversy.
No Teacher, No Nation.

From:

Comrade Destiny Udodiri Akunesi

(Akpo aza na data)