Tinubu Approves Recruitment of 3,252 PTA Teachers as Unity Colleges Face 3,500 Deficit and Security Crisis

President Bola Tinubu has approved the recruitment of 3,252 verified Parent-Teacher Association teachers serving in Federal Unity Colleges across the country, a move the government says will address the persistent shortage of teachers and strengthen the quality of education in federal secondary schools. Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, who announced the development on Thursday, described the approval as a landmark intervention that reflects President Tinubu’s commitment to revitalising the education sector. According to the Minister, priority will be given to verified PTA teachers, many of whom have served in Federal Unity Colleges and Federal Technical Colleges for nearly 25 years without being absorbed into the mainstream public service. “This is a President who cares deeply for Nigeria and for the future of our country,” Alausa said.

But the announcement raises more questions than it answers. While the government celebrates the recruitment of 3,252 teachers, the Minister of Education himself admitted in February 2026 that Federal Unity Colleges are grappling with a deficit of more than 3,500 teachers. The recruitment of 3,252 teachers, even if fully implemented, will barely close the gap. And that gap has existed for years, while successive governments, including Tinubu’s, have done little to address it. The Minister also acknowledged that federal schools are battling insecurity, poor infrastructure and inadequate learning facilities. Yet the government has chosen to focus on a partial recruitment exercise rather than addressing the systemic issues that have crippled the education sector.

The recruitment of 3,252 PTA teachers comes against the backdrop of a devastating education crisis that has worsened under President Tinubu’s watch. Nigeria currently has an estimated 18.5 million out-of-school children, nearly one in every five out-of-school children in the entire world. Estimates put the figure at between 15 million and about 20 million. The 2026 fiscal budget for education dropped from 7.3 per cent allocated in 2025 to just 6.1 per cent of the total budget under the same administration. Total public investment in education stands at only 2.14 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in 2026, falling well below the United Nations’ recommended four to six per cent of GDP.

While children are being kidnapped from their schools, while teachers are being killed, while parents are too poor to send their children to school, Tinubu’s government is celebrating the recruitment of 3,252 teachers as a major achievement. Between May and July 2026 alone, no fewer than 124 schoolchildren and students were abducted in Oyo, Borno and Zamfara states. In May 2026, armed men abducted 39 students and seven teachers during simultaneous raids in Oyo State. In July 2026, three men were sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to offences linked to the kidnapping of dozens of pupils and teachers. The government ordered the immediate and temporary closure of 41 Federal Unity Colleges following a surge in student abductions across the country. Yet the same government that closed 41 schools due to insecurity is now celebrating the recruitment of teachers for schools that may not even be safe for students to attend.

The recruitment of 3,252 PTA teachers is a step, but it is a small step in the wrong direction. The government is celebrating the absorption of teachers who have served for nearly 25 years without permanent appointments. That is not a victory. That is an admission of failure. These teachers should have been absorbed decades ago. Instead, they were left in uncertainty while successive governments, including Tinubu’s, ignored their plight. The Minister’s claim that the approval provides them with the opportunity to become part of the mainstream public service is hollow. It is an admission that the government has neglected these teachers for 25 years and is now trying to claim credit for finally doing what it should have done long ago.

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The verification exercise, conducted by an Inter-Ministerial Committee, screened PTA teachers across the Federal Unity Colleges and verified 3,252 eligible teachers in the cadres of Education Officers, Assistant Education Officers and Technical Instructors. But the government has not explained how it will address the remaining teacher deficit, how it will secure schools from terrorists and bandits, how it will fund the education sector to meet UNESCO’s recommended 20 per cent of the budget and four to six per cent of GDP, or how it will ensure that the 18.5 million out-of-school children are returned to classrooms.

President Tinubu has repeatedly promised to place education at the centre of national development. He has highlighted reforms in education, including the expansion of access to higher education through the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, with over one million students already benefiting from the scheme. He has invested in classrooms, hostels, research centres and science complexes through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund. But these investments have not translated into measurable improvements in the quality of education or the safety of students. The education sector remains underfunded, undersupported and under siege.

The Minister stressed that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers, adding that investing in teachers remains critical to building a stronger and more competitive education system. That is true. But investing in teachers means more than recruiting 3,252 of them. It means paying them well, training them properly, protecting them from harm, and giving them the resources they need to do their jobs. It means funding the education sector adequately, securing schools from terrorists, and ensuring that every Nigerian child has access to quality education. None of that has happened under Tinubu’s watch.

The recruitment of 3,252 PTA teachers is a drop in the ocean of Nigeria’s education crisis. It is a gesture, not a solution. It is a photo opportunity, not a policy. It is a distraction from the government’s failure to address the systemic issues that have crippled the education sector. While Tinubu and his ministers celebrate this partial recruitment, 18.5 million children remain out of school. While they pat themselves on the back for finally absorbing teachers who should have been absorbed decades ago, schools remain unsafe, teachers remain underpaid, and the education sector remains underfunded. The government is celebrating a small step while ignoring the giant leap that is needed. And Nigerians are not fooled.

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