Teachers’ Union calls For Collaboration To Fix Education Ahead Of World Teachers’ Day

Collaboration among teachers, government, parents, and communities is the only way to save Nigeria’s ailing education sector, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) has declared.

Speaking ahead of the 2025 World Teachers’ Day, the National President of ASUSS, Comrade Sola Adigun, said the theme of this year’s celebration, “Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession,” underscores the urgent need for unity in tackling the nation’s education challenges.

“Teaching has never been a job for lone rangers. The progress of a child is determined not by the teacher alone, but also by parents, policymakers, communities, and government,” Adigun said. “True collaboration gives teachers a voice in shaping the future of education.”

Adigun commended the Federal Ministry of Education for including ASUSS representatives in the expanded Governing Council of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), and praised the tuition-free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme as a model of effective partnership between policy and practice.

He also recognised states like Ekiti and Bayelsa for pioneering tuition-free technical education, while applauding governments that respect teachers’ right to freely associate with ASUSS.

Despite these positive steps, the ASUSS president decried the failure of 16 states to implement the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, despite court rulings. He warned that such neglect undermines collaboration.

He further criticised the hurried implementation of the new 9-year Basic Education Curriculum without adequate teacher training or resources.

“Ambition without preparation breeds failure. Where are the trained teachers? Where are the teaching tools?” he asked.

Other pressing challenges, according to him, include examination malpractice, poor welfare, decaying infrastructure, and insecurity in schools, problems that cannot be solved in silos.

Adigun called on states yet to establish Senior Secondary Education Boards to do so urgently, recruit more qualified teachers, and ensure teachers’ welfare is protected. He also renewed the demand for ASUSS’s trade union certificate, approved 17 years ago but still withheld.

He pledged that ASUSS will continue to support the TRCN registration policy, noting that professional certification enhances dignity and competence.

Reaffirming ASUSS’s readiness, Adigun said:
“Recasting teaching as a collaborative profession is not a slogan, it is a necessity. Together, we can fight malpractice, improve welfare, equip our schools, protect our children, and restore education to its rightful place of honour.”

World Teachers’ Day is celebrated globally on October 5 to honour educators and spotlight the challenges facing the profession.