Nigeria’s learning crisis: Why teachers hold the key to education reform

Nigeria’s education crisis is not merely a problem of access; it is fundamentally a crisis of learning and trust. Despite decades of policy reforms and increased school enrolment, the quality of learning outcomes remains deeply troubling. According to the World Bank, more than 70 percent of Nigerian children at age 10 cannot read and understand a simple sentence or perform basic arithmetic. This condition, widely referred to as “learning poverty”, has become alarmingly common across the country.

Recent initiatives such as the government’s HOPE-EDU programme (The HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All), designed to expand access and improve foundational literacy and numeracy, represent important steps in addressing the challenge. Without a parallel and sustained investment in teachers, the individuals who ultimately determine what happens inside classrooms, such programmes risk becoming well-intentioned reforms that fail to transform learning outcomes.

The urgency of the situation becomes even clearer when viewed through Nigeria’s demographic lens. With roughly 70 percent of the population under the age of 30 and a median age of about 19, Nigeria possesses one of the world’s youngest populations. This demographic structure has the potential to become a powerful engine for economic growth and innovation. However, it could just as easily become a source of instability if millions of young people leave school without the skills, confidence, and opportunities needed to participate meaningfully in the economy.

For many Nigerian students, the promise of education has already begun to erode. In communities where unemployment is widespread and informal entrepreneurship appears to offer faster returns than formal schooling, young people increasingly question the relevance of education. High-profile success stories of entrepreneurs who achieved wealth without university degrees sometimes reinforce the perception that schooling is optional rather than foundational.

The deeper problem lies not with student attitudes but with systemic neglect of the education environment itself. Overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated infrastructure, insufficient teaching materials, and persistent underfunding have made teaching extraordinarily difficult. In many schools, teachers struggle to maintain basic instructional quality under conditions that undermine both morale and effectiveness. What should be a profession built around mentorship, inspiration, and intellectual growth often becomes a daily struggle for survival.

This reality underscores a lesson long recognised by education experts around the world: no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers. As the late Professor Babatunde Fafunwa, one of Nigeria’s most respected education scholars, famously observed, “No nation can rise above the quality of its teachers.” His words remain as relevant today as they were decades ago.

Teachers are not simply transmitters of curriculum content. They are mentors, role models, and guides who shape how students perceive knowledge, opportunity, and their own potential. In many communities, teachers represent the most consistent adult influence in a child’s life outside the family. A single dedicated teacher can transform a student’s academic trajectory and restore belief in the value of education.

Unfortunately, too many Nigerian children pass through school without encountering such transformative educators. This is not because talented individuals are absent from the profession. Rather, it is because the system struggles to attract, prepare, support, and retain them.

Addressing this challenge requires a fundamental shift in education policy, from infrastructure-driven reforms to teacher-centred transformation.

First, teacher remuneration must become competitive and reliable. Teaching should not be perceived as a last-resort profession entered only when other career paths are unavailable. Competitive salaries, timely payments, and improved working conditions send a powerful signal that society values educators as essential contributors to national development. Countries that have successfully improved education outcomes, from Finland to Singapore, have done so in part by elevating the status and attractiveness of the teaching profession.

Second, professional development must evolve beyond sporadic workshops toward sustained and practical training systems. Continuous learning opportunities should equip teachers with modern pedagogical skills, digital literacy, and the capacity to address the socio-emotional needs of students. The Federal Ministry of Education’s recent partnership with initiatives such as PLANE (Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria) and telecommunications companies to provide zero-rated internet access for thousands of teachers is an encouraging step. However, these programmes must be expanded nationwide and integrated into structured professional learning pathways.

Third, teachers should be empowered as leaders within their schools and communities. Education systems perform best when teachers are trusted to exercise professional judgement and participate in decision-making. School-level autonomy, peer mentoring networks, and formal recognition programmes can strengthen teacher motivation and reinforce professional accountability.

Equally important is ensuring that policy commitments are matched by adequate funding and transparent implementation. Recent discussions around increasing national education spending signal growing recognition of the sector’s importance. However, budgetary allocations alone are insufficient unless funds translate directly into improved classroom conditions, teacher welfare, and learning resources. Transparent monitoring systems and performance-based accountability will be essential to ensure that investments deliver tangible results.

Programmes such as HOPE-EDU also highlight an important national priority: expanding access to education for underserved populations, including nomadic communities and students in the Tsangaya system. Inclusion is a vital goal. However, expanding enrollment without improving the quality of teaching risks perpetuating the very learning crisis reforms aim to solve. A child in rural Kano deserves the same high-quality teaching and supportive learning environment as a student in Lagos or Abuja.

Ultimately, the true measure of education reform is not the number of schools constructed or technologies deployed. It is about whether students leave classrooms with the knowledge, curiosity, and confidence needed to build meaningful lives. For many young people, that transformation begins with a teacher who recognises their potential and encourages them to believe in it.

Nigeria’s long-term development will not be determined solely by policy frameworks drafted in ministerial offices or by pilot projects funded by development partners. It will be shaped in classrooms across the country, where teachers inspire, guide, and equip the next generation.

Empowering teachers is therefore not a secondary reform priority; it is the foundation upon which all meaningful education progress must rest. If Nigeria truly intends to unlock the promise of its youthful population, it must begin by investing in the people who shape that future every day: its teachers.

Oluwafemi Mayowa Olusola

Oluwafemi Mayowa OLUSOLA is the Opinion Page Editor at BusinessDay. He writes provocative essays on youth development, governance, and strategic partnerships in Nigeria, highlighting the intersections of education, economic policy, and national transformation through pragmatic and data-driven analysis.