According to Punch, A disturbing trend has emerged in the education sector, as 18 states in Nigeria have failed to recruit teachers in the past five years, according to data from the National Union of Teachers. This shocking revelation comes amidst widespread concerns about the acute shortage of teachers in public schools across the country.
The affected states, including Abia, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kogi, Ogun, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara, have not conducted any recruitment exercises between 2018 and 2022. Only the FCT, Lagos, and Katsina have conducted recruitment during this period, with Niger State recruiting 186 teachers in 2022 and Akwa Ibom recruiting 3,500 teachers in 2018 and 1,000 in 2022.
The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria has also raised concerns about the shortage of qualified teachers, particularly in rural areas, exacerbating educational inequality. The National President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Mr Titus Amba, expressed concern about the shortage, stating that many governors have ignored the union's advice to replace retired teachers with new ones.
This crisis has resulted in an unfavorable teacher-pupil ratio in many schools, compromising the quality of education. The shortage of teachers is attributed to the growing population of school children and the lack of recruitment of new teachers.