Katsina State Governor Dikko Umaru Radda, has been conferred with the prestigious Golden Award of Excellence for Education and Teacher Friendliness by the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT). T
he honour was presented to the governor today at the 2025 World Teachers’ Day celebration held at Eagle Square, Abuja. The award is in recognition of the Radda administration’s transformative reforms in education and commitment to teachers’ welfare.
Receiving the award, Governor Radda stated that his administration has committed over 25% of the state budget in the last two years to the education sector, demonstrating unprecedented prioritisation of education development. “We have conducted a major recruitment exercise that was never done in this country, recruiting over 7,000 teachers at once.
We are now introducing rural incentives for our rural teachers to encourage them and give them the most needed attention for the development of our nation,” he declared.
Governor Radda emphasized that developing education is developing the future, noting that without teachers, there would be no nation and no Katsina State. “We commend you, we encourage you, and we will try to do everything we are able to do to make your lives better,” he told the gathering of teachers.
He dedicated the award to all teachers in Katsina State, thanking them for their continued support and collaboration with his administration. “On behalf of our government, our colleagues and all the students of our state, we thank the union, we thank the Nigerian teachers, and we wish you well,” Mr Radda stated.
The 2025 World Teachers’ Day, themed “Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession,” brought together education stakeholders from across Nigeria to celebrate teachers’ contributions to national development. Earlier, in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Abel Olumuyiwa Enitan, noted that collaborative teaching is being recognised globally as a powerful strategy for improving learning outcomes.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, highlighted the ministry’s efforts in strengthening teacher collaboration through initiatives such as the National Teacher Development Policy (2022), the Digital Literacy and Skills Framework, and the promotion of Professional Learning Communities across schools.
The President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Audu Titus Amba, commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for sustaining the President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Award and expressed gratitude to state governors who have identified with teachers by supporting the observance of World Teachers‘ Day.
Mr Amba called on stakeholders to honour and thank teachers for their role in shaping the future and positively impacting society.
The NUT also conferred awards on Governors Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, Nasir Idris of Kebbi State and Ahmed Usman Ododo (Kogi).
The Chairman Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, representative of UNESCO and Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), delivered goodwill messages at the ceremony.
It is noteworthy that Governor Radda’s administration has implemented comprehensive education reforms including massive teacher recruitment, infrastructure development, professional training programs, rural teacher incentives, and increased budgetary allocation to the education sector.
