The Federal Government has expressed its commitment to placing the early childhood workforce at the centre of Nigeria’s human capital agenda.

The Federal Coordinator of the Human Capital Development (HCD) Programme and national early childhood development (ECD) focal point, Dr Muhammad teachers, who stated this in a message to mark the 2026 World Teachers’ Day, called for greater investment in the early childhood workforce, saying the quality of education in the country’s earliest years will be critical to achieving its goal of ensuring that every child is ready for school by the age of five.

He observed that Nigeria has about 92,000 public and private early childhood care, development and education (ECCDE) centres adding that the quality of learning in these settings depended on having a workforce that was adequately trained, fairly remunerated, supported and supervised.

Muhammad urged state and local governments, development partners, private providers and communities to strengthen support for workers in early childhood care, development and education.

He said, “When we talk about foundational learning, we are talking about the teacher in the pre-primary class, the caregiver in the crèche and the early childhood educator in the community learning centre,”.

“These are the professionals who shape the first 2,000 days of a child’s life. As we strive to make every Nigerian child ready by five, the training and welfare of the people who teach them is a priority.”s the global teaching profession faces growing pressure from teacher shortages, increased workloads, technological change and climate disruption.

Muhammad stated that this year’s World Teachers’ Day theme, “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures”, marks the 60th anniversary of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.

According to him, the recommendation established an international framework addressing teachers’ rights, training and working conditions.

He noted that UNESCO estimates that the world will need an additional 44 million teachers by 2030, stressing that the anniversary has renewed calls for better pay, professional autonomy and sustained support for teachers.

Muhammad said the federal government, through the HCD 2.0 programme, is seeking stronger action to support workers in the early years.

He called on state governments to recruit, train, supervise and remunerate early childhood workers at fair and competitive rates, while protecting professional autonomy and addressing excessive workloads. He also urged states to establish dedicated, clearly identified budget lines for early childhood development.

Muhammad emphasized the need for State Universal Basic Education Boards to address shortages of teachers in pre-primary education and provide continuous professional development, including digital skills and preparation for climate-related disruption to learning.

He urged Local governments and ward development committees to recognise early childhood educators as members of ward-level early-years teams, while private providers were encouraged to comply with national quality and workforce standards.

Muhammad also called on development partners, the private sector and communities to align their support for early childhood development around a common results framework.

“Sixty years after the world agreed on what teachers are owed, our task in Nigeria is to extend that promise to the teachers of our youngest children,” he said.

“Standing with teachers means standing with the child.”

Muhammad commended teachers across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, particularly those working in early childhood settings, for their contribution to laying the foundations for the country’s human capital.