Stakeholders express worries over shortage of primary school teachers in Oyo

Parents, teachers and other stakeholders in the education sector have described shortage of public primary school teachers in Oyo State as worrisome and inimical to development of the sector.

The stakeholders, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Wednesday, pleaded with the state government for quick intervention to save the children who were at the receiving end.

NAN reports that the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) had, in July 2022, called on the state government to recruitment more teachers into its primary schools across the state.

The UBEC Executive Secretary, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, had said that the need to recruit more teachers became manifest during the 2022 National Personnel Audit Exercise in the state, which indicated that there were inadequate in the primary schools.

At St. David’s Anglican School, Abidiodan in Lagelu Local Government Area of the state, a teacher, who preferred anonymity, said only nine teachers were handling duties meant for 14.

The teacher, however, said two of the nine, filling up the gap, would be retiring in November, leaving the school with seven teachers to cope with the volume of the children.

“A teacher takes two to three classes and the head teacher (HM) and assistant head teacher (AHM) have joined in teaching the pupils as a way of rescuing the situation.

“Only one teacher manages nursery to primary three classes. Our HM and another class teacher will be retiring in November, meaning that only seven teachers will be left,” said the teacher.

A teacher at Community Primary School, Olorunsogo-Garage in Ona-Ara Local Government Area also lamented the shortage of teachers in the school, saying it was a serious matter.

The teacher, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that out of 14 teachers that used to be in the school, only eight remained, with the head teacher already preparing for retirement in September.

“We used to have 14 teachers in our school before, including one head teacher and three assistant head teacher but now, we are having only eight.

“Aside the fact that our head teacher is retiring in September, the situation is so bad that all the three assistant head teachers are now back in classroom because there are no teachers to man the classes.

“The workload on us is so huge now because the state government has not recruited a single primary school teacher in the last four years, and we don’t know what could have been the reason for that,” the respondent said.

The Head Teacher of Methodist Primary School II, Aresa, Oke-Ado in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area, Mrs Bukola Olasupo, also confirmed the shortage of teachers.

According to her, the school only has one teacher, with the rest as senior staff members.

“All of us now teach so as to fill the vacuum. With that, we can say we have four teachers in the school.

“In some other schools, they only have three teachers to teach from the early childhood class to primary six,” she said.

At St. Stephen’s Primary School, Salvation Army, Ibadan, a teacher, who craved anonymity, said that the school had two arms – School I and School II.

According to the respondent, school I has three teachers, one head teacher and one assistant head teacher, instead of the usual seven teachers and two heads.

“In school II, we have five teachers and two heads.

“We lack teachers, and that is the truth, especially since the majority will retire this year. By the time they go, only God knows how many teachers will be left in the school,” the teacher said.

Another teacher in one of the schools visited said the workload on her as a result of shortage of teachers was affecting her health.

The teacher, who pleaded to be anonymous, noted that majority of teachers in the state public primary schools were senior staff members who would be retiring in the next two or three years.

“I have been visiting clinic in recent times more than before. The reason for this is because we are short of enough capable hands in the school. So, a few of us around do extra work, which is affecting our health.

“We urge the government to take urgent steps to address this because many of the teachers around now will soon retire from service,” she said.

Also, a head teacher in another school, whose name the respondent pleaded not to be mentioned, said that the experience of shortage of teachers was no longer news.

“The situation is now a level where we have four teachers handling the classrooms that are supposed to be manned by 13 teachers.

“Ultimately, this is affecting both teachers and the pupils because the few teachers around can only try their best but there is no way four teachers can satisfactorily do the job of 13 people ” said the respondent.

Mr Kunle Adedeji, Chairman of the state branch of Association of Primary School Head Teachers of Nigeria (AOPSHON), said that the state had about 22,000 primary school teachers before they came down to less than 10,000.

“We have few people in HM and AHM positions because they are all teachers. The situation is unlike what it used to be when we had teachers handling different subjects.

“Some schools have one HM and two teachers taking between 90 and 100 pupils. We are in serious need of teachers now in Oyo State,” Adedeji said.

Also, Mr Raji Oladimeji, Chairman, Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in the state, said that the state government did well in recruiting and moving some qualified teachers working elsewhere to secondary schools.

“But, where there is an issue is the primary schools where teachers are retiring on a daily basis due to age, years of appointment and so on,” he said.

Oladimeji, however, assured, on behalf of the state government, that the issue would be addressed through the recruitment of more teachers before the end of this year.

“Other issues relating to this will also be addressed,” he said.

Another anonymous teacher, who claimed to be a stakeholder in the state school management, said that the state government recently adopted some teachers under the Federal Teachers Scheme (FTS) to state primary schools.

The respondent said that the adoption was to reduce the effects of the shortage of teachers on the pupils.

He disclosed that the government would soon recruit teachers for primary schools before the commencement of the next academic session in September.

“As an insider, I can say that government is fully ready to employ primary school teachers before the commencement of the next session in September.

“The adoption of the FTS teachers is just a short-term measure. If you want to know more about my claims, kindly contact the education secretary,” he said.

A parent, Mrs Faridat Adekunle, said that she noticed that her children’s teachers always failed to mark their homework because of the huge workload on them.

Adekunle called for prompt intervention by the state government, stressing that public schools remained the last hope for average Nigerians who could not afford to send their wards to private schools.

Towing the same line, the state House of Assembly, on Tuesday, urged the executive arm of government to, as a matter of urgency, take necessary steps to employ qualified teachers for primary schools across the state.

The lawmakers, at the plenary presided over by the Speaker, Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin, urged the government, through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to rescue primary education from total collapse through prompt intervention.

The lawmakers held that the situation had further been compounded by the fact that the last recruitment of teachers to public primary schools in the state was done in 2014.

According to the lawmakers, 4,994 teachers had retired from service between 2019 and June 2023, even as more teachers are set to retire.

The motion, moved by the House Leader, Hon. Sanjo Adedoyin and Hon. Dele Adeola (PDP-Iseyin/Itesiwaju), described as worrisome the typical scenario of two teachers teaching pupils from primary one to primary six.

Meanwhile, a senior officer in SUBEB, Mr Raimi Ayodeji, admitting the challenge, said that the state government was making efforts to ensure fresh recruitment of new teachers and replacement of the seconded teachers.

According to him, the recruitment process for primary school teachers began early this year, but was put on hold due to some hitches.

He assured the people of the state that Gov. Seyi Makinde prioritised quality primary education that could be achieved with the engagement of qualified and adequate teachers.