The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Delta State Wing, has called for urgent action to address the shortage of teachers, inadequate instructional materials, school security and other challenges confronting the teaching profession in the state.
The call was made on Monday in Asaba during the 2026 World Teachers’ Day celebration held at the Cenotaph Ground, with the theme, “Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing Its Status and Shaping Our Futures.”
Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Hillary O. Odor, PhD, of the University of Delta, Agbor, said the theme should move society beyond ceremonial appreciation of teachers to practical support that would enable them to perform their responsibilities with dignity.
Odor said standing with teachers meant ensuring that they had the resources required to teach, opportunities for professional development, safe and supportive working environments, appropriate remuneration and a voice in decisions affecting education.
He said protecting the teaching profession also required maintaining professional standards, ensuring that appropriately qualified people entered the profession, providing continuous professional development, protecting teachers’ dignity and creating decent working conditions.
On the status of teachers, the keynote speaker said it had both social and material dimensions, covering the respect and recognition accorded teachers as professionals as well as their working conditions, remuneration and other benefits.
Odor said the Delta State NUT had reported a manpower deficit of more than 10,000 teachers in public primary and secondary schools, partly linked to retirements and deaths, warning that such shortages could lead to larger classes, heavier workloads and reduced individual attention for learners.
He stressed that addressing the teacher shortage should not be limited to recruitment, noting that retaining experienced teachers also depended on better social and economic status, working conditions, employment conditions and career prospects.
The NUT State Chairman, Comrade Dickson Poubeni, also raised concerns over the shortage of teachers and instructional materials, while calling for improved security in schools through adequate perimeter fencing and provision of security personnel.
Poubeni further drew attention to inadequate subvention for school heads, the need to replace retired secondary school principals who had been appointed as permanent secretaries, the ongoing screening of teachers and the absence of NUT representatives on governing councils of state-owned educational institutions.
The union chairman, however, acknowledged developments in the education sector, including the approval of Grade Level 17 progression for qualified university graduate teachers in public primary schools, while also highlighting other areas requiring further attention.
Representing Governor Sheriff Oborevwori at the celebration, the Commissioner for Technical Education, Hon. Smart Ufoh, reiterated the administration’s commitment to teachers’ welfare, professional development and improved working conditions.
The government representative said the administration had approved Grade Level 17 progression for qualified graduate teachers in the public primary school system and a 13th-month salary for public servants, while efforts were also being made to recruit additional teachers and strengthen professional training.
The keynote address also examined the growing influence of artificial intelligence on education. Odor said AI could assist teachers with lesson planning, learning materials, exercises, translation, personalised learning and administrative work, but warned of concerns including academic dishonesty, inaccurate information, bias and unequal access to digital resources.
He urged teachers not to fear AI but to learn to use it effectively, stressing that technology could provide information but could not replace the human qualities of teaching, including empathy, creativity, judgment, ethical guidance and emotional support.
Odor called for a practical agenda for Delta State that would include adequate recruitment based on manpower and subject needs, improved teacher welfare and working conditions, relevant professional development, greater teacher participation in education policy, improved school infrastructure and responsible use of technology and AI.
He also reminded teachers that professional recognition should go with professional responsibility, urging them to remain competent, continue learning, embrace appropriate technology, observe professional ethics and maintain high standards in the classroom.
The keynote speaker proposed five practical commitments for the profession: valuing teachers, supporting them through mentoring and professional development, empowering them with meaningful professional voice, equipping them for digital education and AI, and trusting them with responsibility alongside professional accountability.
He said the future of education would increasingly require teachers to serve not only as transmitters of information but also as facilitators, mentors, coaches, guides, role models and learning designers, while retaining the human element in education.
The celebration ended with renewed calls for sustained support for teachers, protection of the teaching profession and improved conditions that would enable educators to contribute effectively to the development of future generations.
Odor, in his concluding remarks, urged stakeholders to stand with teachers beyond the annual celebration, protect the profession, advance the status of teachers and equip them for a changing world, stressing that the quality of the future would depend, in no small measure, on the quality of teachers supported today.
Originally published By Eagle News Report