Nigeria’s Teacher Crisis Leaves Millions of Children in Overcrowded Classrooms
In Nigeria’s public schools, over 31.8 million learners are being taught by only 592,077 teachers, which raises questions about the quality of education and the learning environment for children nationwide.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s Digital Nigeria Education Management Information System revealed a national learner-teacher ratio of 53.8:1. This equates to an average of nearly 54 learners per teacher.
The pressure is significantly higher in some states. The highest ratio was Kano with 88 learners per teacher, followed by Katsina with 87.4 and Imo with 82.2.
This is also seen in the number of classrooms available. The learner classroom ratio in public schools in Nigeria was 60.1 to one, with Katsina having 107 learners per classroom and Kano having 91.7 learners per classroom.
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has also reported that there are 194,876 teachers shortage in public primary schools, which it said is alarming.
Overcrowded classrooms and teachers who are unable to give children individual attention can make it harder for children to receive the attention they need to learn effectively, and to understand lessons and get the help they need.
The challenge is especially troubling for children with special educational needs, who might need extra teaching help and special teaching methods.
The figures also reveal major differences between states. Kano and Katsina had the highest pressure of 17.1 and 18.4 learners per teacher respectively, while Ekiti had the lowest pressure with 10.4 learners per teacher.
The data shows that there is a need for more teachers, and crucially, better deployment of teachers where children are most under pressure in the classroom.
