Teachers’ Day: ASUSS Demands Better Welfare, Protection for Oyo Teachers
• Seeks Makinde's Intervention On Union Recognition by TESCOM
The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Oyo State Chapter, has called for improved welfare, greater recognition and enhanced protection for teachers, stressing that educators deserve better treatment in view of their enormous contributions to education and nation-building.
The union made the call in a statement jointly signed by its Oyo State Chairman, Comrade Ranti Oluwemimo, and Secretary, Comrade Ayo Adekunle, to commemorate the 2026 World Teachers’ Day.
World Teachers’ Day is celebrated annually on October 5 to recognise the contributions of teachers to education, human development and nation-building. The 2026 celebration marks 60 years since the adoption of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
The theme for this year’s celebration is: “Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing its Status and Shaping its Future.”
ASUSS said teachers remained the “engine room” of development in every nation, describing them as nation builders and mind moulders whose responsibilities extend far beyond classroom teaching.
According to the union, teachers routinely perform multiple roles as parents, counsellors, mentors, guardians, talent discoverers and spiritual guides, among others, yet their remuneration and societal recognition remain disproportionately low compared with the responsibilities they shoulder.
The union said, “Teachers deserve special recognition for the sacrifices we make and the invaluable services we render to humanity and the nation. We therefore should not be neglected or treated as second-class professionals.”
ASUSS called on governments and other stakeholders to prioritise the welfare and professional development of teachers through improved remuneration, safer school environments and better teaching and learning facilities.
Among its immediate demands, the union sought a more robust remuneration package for teachers, safer schools, conducive teaching and learning environments, functional teachers’ offices and facilities, greater respect and recognition for teachers, as well as continuous investment in training and retraining.
The union also emphasised the need for teachers to continue embracing professional development, noting that educators must constantly acquire new knowledge and adapt to emerging trends in order to meet contemporary educational demands.
As part of the 2026 World Teachers’ Day commemoration, ASUSS Oyo State also remembered teachers and students who lost their lives while carrying out their responsibilities in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The union described the deceased teachers and learners as professional martyrs who paid the supreme price in the service of humanity.
“Your sacrifices will never be forgotten. Your names are written in the history of our profession,” the union stated, while commiserating with the families, colleagues and communities affected by the tragedy.
ASUSS called for greater protection of teachers and students, particularly in communities vulnerable to insecurity.
ASUSS Appeals to Makinde Over Union Recognition
The union expressed appreciation to the administration of Governor Seyi Abiodun Makinde for what it described as various interventions aimed at improving teachers’ welfare and teaching and learning conditions in secondary schools across the state.
ASUSS particularly commended the governor for granting full recognition approval to the Oyo State chapter of the union through the Ministry of Education, describing the decision as a demonstration of fairness, inclusiveness and respect for the rights of legitimate workers’ unions.
However, the union appealed to Governor Makinde to prevail on the Chairperson of the Oyo State Post-Primary Schools Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) to immediately implement the recognition approval.
According to ASUSS, about three months after the approval was granted, efforts to secure its implementation by TESCOM had remained unsuccessful.
The union expressed concern that the delay could create the impression that TESCOM was not acting in line with the directive and approval of the state government.
“In the spirit of this year’s World Teachers’ Day celebration, ASUSS Oyo State therefore calls on His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Abiodun Makinde, to kindly intervene and cause TESCOM to do the needful by implementing the recognition approval without further delay,” the union appealed.
ASUSS maintained that the recognition and inclusion of all legitimate stakeholders in the education sector would strengthen industrial harmony, promote fairness and contribute to the development of secondary education in Oyo State.
The union, while celebrating teachers across the state, called on government, parents, communities and other stakeholders to stand with teachers not only on World Teachers’ Day but throughout the year.
“Teachers deserve dignity. Teachers deserve recognition. Teachers deserve protection. Teachers deserve better welfare. Teachers deserve respect,” ASUSS declared.
