Recruitment: NUT Lists States That Employed 23,092 Teachers In 2023

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has highlighted how just 12 states out of the 36 in the country employed the service of teachers in their state-funded primary and secondary schools in 2023.

In a report made available to journalists on Tuesday by the NUT, it was revealed that a total of 23,092 teachers were hired during the period under review.

Naija News understands that the report also detailed which states hired teachers in 2023, including Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Anambra, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ekiti, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, and Ogun.

According to the document, the states that hired the most teachers in 2023 were Anambra with 5,000, Borno with 4,000, and Adamawa with 3,020.

Other states included Akwa-Ibom with 1,000; Delta with 2,000; Ekiti with 2,000 new hires; Kano with 1,750 new teachers; and Lagos with 1,340 teachers, among others.

The National President of the NUT, Titus Amba, had previously voiced worries about the lack of teachers, noting that many state governors chose not to heed the union’s recommendation to hire new teachers instead of replacing those who had retired.

“Recruitment of teachers lies in the hands of the state governments. A significant number of teachers have left the service, and till now, there is no plan to replace them,” Amba told the PUNCH recently.

According to a recent report, the Universal Basic Education Commission expressed concerns about the lack of teachers in public schools.

The report highlighted that there are currently over 47 million students enrolled in 171,027 private and public primary and junior secondary schools across the country. UBEC indicated that there are a total of 79,775 public schools and 91,252 private schools in operation.

In terms of teachers, UBEC mentioned that there are 354,651 teachers in early childhood facilities, 915,593 in primary schools, and 416,291 in junior secondary schools.

Additionally, the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria also voiced worries about the insufficient number of qualified teachers in the country, particularly in rural areas, which is contributing to educational disparities.

The Registrar of TRCN, Prof Josiah Ajiboye, shared these concerns in a recent interview.

“The surge in the population of school children, and the increase in the number of schools in Nigeria, both government and private, present a complex challenge for the education system.

“The availability and quality of qualified teachers are crucial factors in ensuring students receive quality education. However, the shortage of qualified teachers is a concerning issue in Nigeria for several reasons,” Ajiboye told the PUNCH

He elaborated that due to the increasing number of school children and inadequate hiring of new teachers, the teacher-pupil ratio in numerous schools had turned unfavourable.