Good morning, Big Brains. Yesterday, I sat still for 20 minutes, figuring out how cooked the next generation of Nigerian kids might be. Then I stumbled on the news that made it into this edition and got my answer.
Margaret
Word count: ~ 1,000
Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
TRCN wants you to know that Nigeria’s education system is cooked
Nigeria’s Power Minister wants to be Oyo State’s next governor
The Big Deal
TRCN wants you to know that Nigeria’s education system is cooked
Baby boomers and Gen Z Nigerians may have experienced shege in Nigeria’s hands, but according to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Gen Alpha will most likely have it worse.
On Monday, October 6, TRCN’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ronke Soyombo, predicted that educational standards would continue to fall due to the growing number of unqualified teachers in classrooms across the country, especially in private schools.
According to her, there are many unqualified teachers in the system, and yes, she means unqualified as in having zero teaching qualifications. She added that some of these people genuinely want to teach, but gaining access to the right qualifications is holding them back. To fix this, the TRCN says it’s introducing an accelerated programme that allows experienced but unqualified teachers to complete their professional diploma in six months. The Council hopes this will attract more people to the profession and fill the country’s widening teacher gap.
Currently, about 1.4 million teachers are registered with the TRCN, but the Council says the number needs to be raised to 20 million within two years. Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, also seems to agree. She has joined the TRCN to call for urgent action to address the teacher shortage. It’s an interesting call coming straight from the President’s home, so we hope that means something.
Why is this a big deal?
The average monthly salary of teachers, estimated by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), is ₦37000. When you do the maths and compare this to the cost of living in Tinubu’s Nigeria, it’s easy to see how the system is attracting unqualified teachers.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has been talking about how underfunded the education sector has been for the longest time, and this is just one of the ripple effects. The NUT President Audu Amba says the underfunding situation is so bad that “Teachers in public schools often have to buy their own materials, such as chalk, to carry out their duties.”
In the 2025 budget, the government set aside ₦3.52 trillion for education. It sounds big until you do the maths and realise that’s just 7% of the national budget. This allocation is not nearly enough to cover even the essentials.
The TRCN says the country has about 1.4 million registered teachers. With the current minimum wage of ₦70,000 a month, each teacher should earn at least ₦840,000 annually. That’s at least ₦1.1 trillion yearly if we’re using the minimum wage as our benchmark. But the government only set aside ₦1.64 trillion for personnel costs for every Ministry of Education payroll worker, not just teachers. Going by FG’s math, it’s still clear that Nigerian teachers are underpaid and the government doesn’t seem to give two shits.
Like doctors, teachers are now leaving the country to seek greener pastures, leaving the 31.8 million students in primary and secondary school at a loss. Currently, over 70% of students
below ten cannot read or perform basic arithmetic. Yet, the government has continued to drag its feet on recruitment. Eighteen states across the country have refused to hire new teachers for five years now.
If President Tinubu wants an opportunity to show how committed he is to renewing people’s hope, here’s the perfect one.
Nigeria’s Power Minister wants to be Oyo State’s next governor
The minister-to-governor pipeline has always been crazy in Nigeria, but this might be the most interesting one yet. This candidate’s only notable achievement is introducing a 230% increase in electricity cost and watching the national grid fall every three market days, but he’s already pitching himself for the Oyo State governorship position. If you haven’t figured it out, we’re talking about the man, the myth and menace, Adebayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of Power.
At a stakeholders’ meeting with All Progressives Congress leaders on Sunday, October 5, Adelabu declared that it’s finally his turn to govern Oyo in 2027. Not to trigger any “E mi lokan” PTSD, but the Minister believes the universe now owes him the governor’s seat.
With the lights barely staying on and Nigerians adjusting to multiple electricity tariff hikes under his watch, the Minister says he’s “paid his dues” and is ready to lead Oyo State, and he’s willing to organise a “house-to-house campaign” to achieve that goal.
Whether Oyo people will agree that it’s indeed “Adelabu time” remains to be seen, but here’s what we can tell you for free: the 2027 race just got a little more electrifying.
Your next big read
→5 Nigerians Open Up on Going No Contact With Their Parents: We asked five Nigerians to share why they went no contact with their parents. Here’s what they said.
→The Undergraduate Trying to Cut His Expenses Down to ₦500k/Month: The 24-year-old in this #NairaLife has been hustling since he was in secondary school. He finally found a sustainable break in product design in 2022 and now makes enough to support himself through a university education.
The Big Picks
Tinubu Returns To Abuja After 10-Day Visit To Lagos: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday returned to Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Fire Guts Section Of Rivers Secretariat: Fire on Monday evening razed a section of the Podium Block at the Rivers State Secretariat Complex in Port Harcourt, destroying properties.
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