Nigeria’s education system is facing a severe workforce crisis as just 915,913 teachers are currently available to cater to over 31.7 million pupils across public and private primary schools nationwide, a teacher-to-pupil ratio of 1:35, data from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) reveals.
The growing imbalance in the teacher-to-pupil ratio is raising alarm among education stakeholders, especially as teachers continue to grapple with unpaid minimum wages, poor working conditions, and recruitment shortfalls. In the Federal Capital Territory, teachers recently embarked on a strike following the failure of area councils to implement the new minimum wage approved by President Bola Tinubu.
Further compounding the crisis, at least 18 Nigerian states failed to recruit a single teacher between 2019 and 2024, according to previous investigations.
Despite an expanding population of school-aged children, the number of qualified teachers has not kept pace. This shortage is especially dire in rural communities, where educational inequality is exacerbated due to the lack of manpower.
The immediate past Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, described the situation as deeply concerning. “The surge in the population of school children and the increase in the number of government and private schools present a complex challenge for the education system. The availability and quality of qualified teachers are crucial for ensuring that students receive quality education,” Ajiboye said.
According to UBEC’s data, Nigeria currently has 131,377 primary schools, comprising 65,529 public and 65,848 private institutions. Of the 31,771,916 learners, 24.2 million are enrolled in public schools, while 7.4 million attend private schools.
Titus Amba, President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), warned that the worsening manpower crisis is leading to what he termed “learning poverty,” especially in rural schools. He noted that with the present teacher-to-pupil ratio of 1:35, in several communities, entire schools are being managed by only one or two teachers.
“Reports from the field reveal an alarming manpower crisis where some primary schools are barely managed by one or two teachers, leaving pupils to suffer learning poverty with a bleak future ahead,” Amba said.
He called on governments at all levels to urgently respond to the global call for improved education by recruiting, training, and adequately supporting teachers. “Every child deserves access to a qualified teacher if we must achieve sustainable educational development,” he added.
The shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in underserved areas, threatens Nigeria’s long-term development and highlights the urgent need for systemic reforms and sustainable investment in the education sector.
