The Nigerian Government has called on states, local governments, development partners and other stakeholders to strengthen support for early childhood teachers and caregivers, as Nigeria marks World Teachers’ Day 2026.
The Federal Coordinator of the Human Capital Development Programme and National Early Childhood Development Focal Point, Ado Muhammad, said the quality of learning outcomes is shaped long before children enter Primary One, stressing the need to prioritise the training, welfare and professional development of early childhood educators.
Muhammad said Nigeria’s about 92,000 public and private early childhood care, development and education centres require adequately trained, fairly remunerated, supported and supervised personnel to provide quality foundational learning.
“When we talk about foundational learning, we are talking about the teacher in the pre-primary class, the caregiver in the crèche and the early childhood educator in the community learning centre,” he said.
He added that these professionals play a critical role in shaping the first 2,000 days of a child’s life, noting that their training and welfare remain central to ensure that every Nigerian child is ready by five.
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The Federal Coordinator urged state governments to recruit, train and pay early childhood workers competitive salaries, protect their professional autonomy and provide manageable workloads, while also establishing dedicated budget lines for early childhood development.
He also called on State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) to address teacher shortages in pre-primary schools and provide continuous professional development, including digital skills and preparedness for climate-related disruptions to learning.
Muhammad urged local governments and Ward Development Committees to recognise early childhood educators as members of ward early-years teams, while calling on private providers to adhere to national quality and workforce standards.
The 2026 World Teachers’ Day theme, “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures”, commemorates the 60th anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
Muhammad said the anniversary was an opportunity for Nigeria to extend the global commitment to teachers to those working with the youngest children.
“Sixty years after the world agreed on what teachers are owed, our task in Nigeria is to extend that promise to the teachers of our youngest children. Standing with teachers means standing with the child,” he said.
He commended teachers across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, particularly those working in early childhood settings, for their dedication to laying the foundation for Nigeria’s human capital development.
