By Abdullahi Idris, Dutse
Governor Umar Namadi has reasserted his administration’s commitment to teachers’ welfare, continuous professional training, and recruitment to strengthen the education sector across the state.
Speaking at the 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration held at the Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi Durbar Ground in Dutse, the governor commended teachers for their hard work, resilience, and dedication to duty, describing teaching as the foundation of every other profession.
“Let me first and foremost, in recognition of this historic day and historic occasion, on behalf of the government and the entire people of Jigawa State, profoundly express our warm gratitude and sincere appreciation to all the teachers in Jigawa State for your hard work, resilience, and dedication to duty in continuing to impart knowledge and skills to our children as pupils and students,” he said.
The governor emphasized the crucial role of teachers in nation-building, asserting that teaching serves as the foundation for all other professions.
“Every accomplished professional in whatever field, every professor, every accomplished politician, every accomplished business tycoon, every learned person, everybody, had a teacher he or she revered in life. Whom we often recall with nostalgia, and deep in our minds we appreciate them for being part of our life. Is there any profession more noble and more rewarding as the teaching profession? I believe there is none.”
He described teachers as role models and mentors who provide moral guidance and inspiration to pupils and students alike.
“Teachers play the role of parents and provide moral guidance and inspiration for pupils and students to grow up as functional and productive members of the society. This is precisely why most often people say that the reward of teachers is in heaven—and this is true if teachers see what they are doing as service to humanity.”
Governor Namadi also announced that an executive bill is before the Jigawa State House of Assembly for the establishment of the Jigawa State Teacher Development Agency, which will focus exclusively on teacher training, retraining, and professional capacity development.
“The objectives of the Bill therefore include, among others, enhancing the capacity of teaching and non-teaching staffs at both the basic and post-basic levels, undertaking capacity-building programs at the basic and post-basic levels, and enhancing teaching methodologies. Only through an agency established for this purpose would teacher development be given the actual attention it deserves.
“This underscores our concerns towards professional teacher development to ensure that our children get the opportunity to receive quality teaching from high-quality teachers. The quality of our pupils and students is directly related to the quality of our teachers.”
In his address earlier, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Comrade Abdulkadir Yunusa Jigawa, lauded the Jigawa State Government for its continuous support to the education sector, highlighting several achievements under Governor Namadi’s leadership, including the promotion of over 16,000 teachers, implementation of a ₦70,000 minimum wage, and recruitment of more than 10,000 teachers across the state
Comrade Yunusa also commended the governor for introducing digital reforms in schools, fencing off education facilities for safety, and establishing critical agencies such as the Jigawa State Senior Secondary School Education Board, Jigawa Education Resource Agency (JERA), Education Quality Assurance Agency (JISEQA), and the Teacher Training and Development Agency (JITDA).
He further acknowledged the government’s allocation of 32% of the state’s budget to education, exceeding UNESCO’s recommendation, and praised the reinstatement of the Best Teacher Award as motivation for excellence in the teaching profession.