Education Minister Alausa Cries Out Over ‘Crippling’ Staff Shortage, Demands 20% Budget Hike to Save Public Schools

Nigeria’s education sector is currently “shooting in the dark” due to a severe lack of funding and a vanishing workforce. On Thursday, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, delivered a sobering reality check to the National Assembly, warning that the nation’s prestigious Federal Unity Colleges are currently operating with a massive deficit of over 3,500 teachers.

Defending the ministry’s 2026 budget estimates in Abuja, Alausa didn’t mince words about the “State of Harmony” or lack thereof in Nigerian classrooms. He revealed that the shortage is most critical in “backbone” subjects like Science, Mathematics, and Technology, leaving thousands of students without the specialized instruction needed to compete in a 21st-century economy.

“We cannot produce global-standard graduates on a shoe-string budget,” Alausa told the Joint Committee on Education. “The shortage of qualified teachers is crippling our efforts. We need a decisive shift. I am urging the National Assembly to adopt the UNESCO-recommended 20% benchmark for education. Anything less is merely managing a crisis rather than building a future.”

Beyond the staffing gap, the Minister highlighted a “security emergency” within the school system. He pointed out that many public schools remain “wide open” to bandits and kidnappers because there isn’t enough money to complete perimeter fencing and modern surveillance systems. To bridge the gap in the interim, the Minister is pushing a controversial but pragmatic “voucher system” that would see the government pay private schools to absorb students from overcrowded or teacher-deficient public institutions.

With ₦200 billion from TETFund already earmarked for university upgrades this year, Alausa is betting on a “high-investment, high-accountability” model to stop the brain drain. However, as lawmakers begin their line-by-line review of the 2026 proposal, the big question remains: will the Federal Government find the trillions needed to put a qualified teacher in every classroom?