The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has demanded the immediate implementation of a special salary structure approved for teachers in 2022, saying the four-year delay is hurting morale in the profession.
The union also called for the recruitment of more qualified teachers and improved working conditions to address shortages and overcrowding in schools across the country.
The NUT National Deputy President, Kizito Kalu, made the demands on Monday in Abuja while delivering the union’s 2026 World Teachers’ Day address at Eagle Square.
Kalu said the special salary structure for teachers in basic and secondary schools was approved by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 alongside other welfare packages but had yet to be implemented.
He urged the government to move beyond policy announcements and translate the approval into improved remuneration for teachers.
“Teachers must receive remuneration that reflects the importance of their responsibilities and the prevailing economic realities in the country,” Kalu said.
He added, “We, therefore, renew our call on the government to set machinery in motion for actualisation of the new salary regime for teachers in order to boost their morale and enhance their dignity.”
The union said the salary issue was part of broader challenges facing the teaching profession, including rising living costs, overcrowded classrooms, inadequate facilities and shortages of instructional materials.
Kalu also raised concerns over the shortage of teachers, particularly in rural, underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
He attributed the manpower gap partly to the failure of some state governments to recruit replacements for teachers who had retired, died or left the service.
“There is an acute shortage of teachers in our schools across states of the federation, occasioned by non-recruitment of teachers by some state governments for many years,” the union said.
The NUT urged federal and state governments to embark on aggressive recruitment of professionally qualified teachers and introduce incentives to attract and retain educators in difficult-to-reach communities.
It said recruitment without measures to retain teachers would not adequately address the manpower crisis.
The union maintained that improved remuneration, working conditions and professional status were necessary to strengthen the teaching profession and improve the quality of basic and secondary education.
Nigeria joined other countries on Monday to mark World Teachers’ Day, observed annually on October 5.
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