NUT Launches ‘Go Public, Fund Education’ Campaign in Kano, Demands Increased Investment in Public Schools
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has launched its “Go Public, Fund Education” campaign in Kano State, calling on governments at all levels to increase investment in public education and take urgent steps to improve the country’s declining educational standards.
The campaign was launched on Thursday in Kano as part of the union’s nationwide advocacy to draw greater attention to challenges affecting the education sector, including inadequate funding, poor teacher welfare and the persistent rise in the number of out-of-school children.
Speaking on behalf of the NUT National President, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, the union’s National Deputy President, Elder Comrade Kizito A. Kalu, said the campaign was designed to mobilise Nigerians and governments to recognise education as a critical foundation for national development.
Kalu stressed that Nigeria’s education system remained below internationally recommended standards, making increased and sustained investment in the sector imperative.
“We are in Kano to launch the ‘Go Public, Fund Education’ campaign for the Nigerian educational system,” he said.
According to him, the initiative seeks to promote a public education system capable of meeting international standards while ensuring that Nigerian children have access to quality, affordable and inclusive education.
He expressed concern over the country’s out-of-school children crisis, urging the federal, state and local governments to develop and implement effective measures to tackle the social and economic factors preventing children from attending school.
NUT Calls for Improved Teachers’ Welfare
The NUT Deputy President also identified poor teachers’ welfare as one of the factors contributing to the decline in educational standards.
He called for improved remuneration, better working conditions and enhanced opportunities for teachers’ professional development, stressing that teachers remained at the heart of any successful education system.
“Teachers are not well taken care of, and that is why you see the educational standard in Nigeria continuing to fall,” Kalu said.
He added that adequate attention to teachers’ welfare was essential to improving the quality of education nationwide.
“You cannot teach on an empty stomach. Teachers are like candles—they burn themselves to illuminate their environment, and no nation can grow above the standard of its education,” he added.
The union therefore urged governments to regard investment in teachers as a fundamental component of education financing rather than merely a recurrent expenditure.
Kano Government Supports Campaign
The Kano State Ministry of Education expressed support for the campaign, describing it as an important initiative towards addressing the challenges confronting public education and the growing out-of-school children crisis.
Speaking on behalf of the state government, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Bashir Baffa Muhammad, said the campaign was consistent with the education priorities of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration.
Muhammad emphasised the need for increased public and international support to address the socio-economic challenges responsible for school exclusion and limited access to quality education.
He said stronger collaboration among government institutions, teachers’ unions, civil society organisations, development partners and other stakeholders would help improve educational access and standards.
According to him, bringing the NUT and development partners together under the campaign would provide an opportunity to broaden support for public education and promote greater community participation in school development.
He added that the initiative would complement ongoing efforts by the Kano State Government to strengthen education funding and encourage wider public involvement in improving schools.
The launch brought together representatives of the NUT, the Kano State Ministry of Education and other education stakeholders, who called for sustained investment in public schools, improved teachers’ welfare and stronger measures to ensure that more Nigerian children remain in school.
The NUT said it would continue to use the “Go Public, Fund Education” campaign to advocate increased investment in public education, improved accountability in the management of education funds and stronger commitment to the development of Nigeria’s education system.
