The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Oyo State Wing, has dedicated the 2026 World Teachers’ Day celebration to teachers and learners affected by the May 15, 2026 attack on a school in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
In an address delivered at the celebration held on Monday at the Islamic High School Multipurpose Hall, Orita Basorun, Ibadan, the NUT Chairman, Comrade Hassan Ajibola Fatai, said the union would honour surviving victims of the attack and support families of teachers who lost their lives.
The celebration, held under the theme, “Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing its Status and Shaping our Futures,” brought together teachers, education administrators, government officials, labour leaders and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr. Nureni Aderemi Adeniran, said education could not be transformed without teachers, stressing that their status, competence and welfare remained central to the future of education.
Adeniran noted that the celebration marked 60 years of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, adding that standing with teachers must go beyond ceremonial appreciation to include professional development, decent working conditions, teaching resources, career progression, mentoring and continuous capacity building.
He commended the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde for its commitment to teachers’ welfare, citing the payment of outstanding inherited leave allowances, regular payment of salaries, abolition of the six-year waiting period for teachers and approval for the upgrade of teachers’ grade levels above GL14.
The NUT Chairman, Fatai, described the teachers and learners affected by the Oriire attack as “heroes and heroines of the teachers and education struggle in the state.” He commended the government and other stakeholders involved in the rescue and survival efforts, while urging continued improvement in teachers’ welfare and working conditions.
Fatai also presented demands on behalf of teachers, including full implementation of the Safe School Programme, integration of 135 teachers into the TESCOM employment structure, approval of inter-local government transfers for some teachers appointed in 2005, administrative flexibility on conversion and career progression, prompt release of grants to school heads and payment of outstanding 2025 leave allowances. A major highlight of the event was the presentation of the Heroes and Heroines of Teachers Award to Mrs. Alamu Racheal Folawe, Mr. Ojo Jonathan Adebayo, Mr. Olatunde Olutoye Zacchaeus, Mrs. Oladeji Jelilat Oluwakemi and Mrs. Daunting Mary Temitope for their courage and dedication during the Oriire school attack.
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