In 2016, the Nigeria Union of Teachers reported that teachers in at least 27 states were experiencing difficulties linked to unpaid salaries and poor conditions of service. A year later, a report on the state of the profession described Nigerian teachers as poorly remunerated and working in difficult conditions, including overcrowded classrooms and inadequate facilities.

The Federal Government subsequently approved a special salary structure for teachers in 2020, alongside other welfare measures. However, reports in 2024 and 2025 indicated that implementation of the promised salary structure had remained a major concern for teachers.

The issue remains prominent in 2026, with the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools again calling for a Special Teachers’ Salary Structure that reflects the responsibilities, qualifications and professional demands of teaching.

Beyond remuneration, stakeholders are also calling for improvements in infrastructure, teacher-student ratios, laboratories, libraries and access to modern teaching resources. They argue that celebrating teachers once a year cannot substitute for policies that improve their everyday working conditions.

The message from educators is that Nigeria’s education system can only realise its potential when the people responsible for delivering education are adequately supported, trained and rewarded.