The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) in Kogi State has said the state needs 2,871 additional teachers to bridge the widening manpower gap in public secondary schools and restore the quality of education.

ASUSS Chairman, Mr Emejeh Ogwu, stated this in Lokoja during the 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration, where he urged Governor Ahmed Ododo to approve the immediate recruitment of the needed teachers to address the deficit.

Ogwu said the shortage of qualified teachers was already affecting the standard of education in the state.

“We will never stop appreciating the state government for the recruitment of 1,108 teachers in 2023 out of the 3,979 teachers actually approved for employment by the immediate past administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello,” he said.

“We want to put it on record that at the time the above number of teachers were recruited, public secondary schools in Kogi were in dire need of 9,948 teachers. Between the time of the approval and now, the situation has even become more critical as a result of death, retirement, and the movement of teachers to areas where pastures are greener.”

The ASUSS chairman appealed to the Federal Government to take stronger steps to stabilise the naira and reduce the cost of living to improve the real value of teachers’ salaries.

Ogwu also called on the state government to pay outstanding leave bonuses, harmonise pension payments for retirees, and extend ongoing infrastructural development to secondary schools across the state.

He further urged the government to implement a revolving motorcycle loan scheme to ease teachers’ mobility, especially in rural areas.

While commending the government for regular payment of salaries, pensions, and the implementation of the minimum wage, Ogwu said more investment in education was vital to sustain progress.

In his goodwill message, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Labour Matters, Mr. Onu Johnson-Edoka, praised teachers for their commitment to nation-building and called for stronger collaboration among teachers, parents, and communities to nurture disciplined and productive students.

Also speaking, the state Head of Service, Dr. Elijah Adeiza, said the government had received ASUSS’s request for additional teachers and assured that the administration of Governor Ododo, which he described as teachers-friendly, was already working on measures to address their concerns.

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