The Nigerian Union of Teachers in Oyo state says it will intensify the training and retraining of teachers and sustain legal action against violence and other forms of misconduct in schools.

The NUT chairman in the state, Raji Oladimeji, said this in Ibadan on Tuesday.

Mr Oladimeji said that the union had made provision in its budget for regular capacity-building programmes to update teachers’ knowledge and improve classroom delivery. He said the programmes were in two categories: statutory and non-statutory.

According to him, the statutory training, known as the Study Circle, is a constitutionally mandated programme administered by the union’s national headquarters.

He explained that the programme was for state officers and branch executives, including chairmen, secretaries and treasurers from local government branches.

Mr Oladimeji stated that the union typically invited facilitators from relevant ministries and agencies to lead these sessions.

“Beyond the statutory training, we also organise non-statutory, in-service workshops within the state to update teachers’ knowledge locally,” he said.

The NUT chairman said the union also partnered with key education agencies in the state, including the State Universal Basic Education Board and the Teaching Service Commission, with a view to organising additional professional development programmes for teachers.

Development partners supported some of the interventions, which increasingly focused on ICT compliance, he said.

“The goal is to equip teachers to move from analogue methods to effectively teach today’s digital learners,” the NUT chairman said.

Mr Oladimeji also said that the union exposed teachers to international learning opportunities through conferences and workshops in other African countries and beyond.

He disclosed that some union members would participate in a capacity-building workshop in Accra, Ghana, before the end of March 2026.

Regarding school safety, Mr Oladimeji said that the union was not taking cases of cultism, bullying, attacks on teachers, and other threats within school environments.

He said that the union promptly reports such incidents to security agencies and has also instituted legal action in some cases. 

According to him, the union currently has about three court cases related to attacks on teachers and school-related violence.

He recalled a case in the Afijio LGA where hoodlums attacked and stabbed a teacher at a school.

Mr Oladimeji said the suspects had been arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

“Whenever we see anything that is not good for the school environment or the development of education, we report to the police or take legal action for appropriate sanctions,” he said.

The chairman further said that the union’s firm response was already helping to deter perpetrators from using school environments for criminal activities.

On bullying and student misconduct, Mr Oladimeji said that ensuring a safe school environment should not be left to teachers alone.

According to him, students, parents, communities, and teachers all have a role to play in promoting discipline and protecting learners’ future.

“All of us must be on deck to sanitise and sensitise people against these barbaric attitudes in our schools,” he said.

(NAN)