The Media Advocacy West Africa Foundation having carried out a study on teachers wages across the Nigerian state, which findings revealed teachers receive terrible wages, is calling on the Nigerian government to put in place a National Teacher Minimum Wage legislation to address the poor teachers welfare which is a core component of reform in the education sector.
The study which covered North-Central, South-South, Southeast, and South-West Nigeria, found that teachers in both private and secondary schools are grossly underpaid, with those in private schools being the worse hit, have a huge workload with no hope for better working conditions. And, that leads to a depression that affects their delivery.
Some of the teachers who spoke to us during the study said government and stakeholders often focus on school enrolment and structures without paying any attention to the teachers’ welfare which they say is central to effective education reform.
Also, stakeholders in education who interacted with us, pointed out that government interventions that focus on providing infrastructures and teaching materials to schools without adequate attention to teachers’ welfare defeat the essence of reform in the education sector and does not help in improving the sector.
The stakeholders told MAWA Foundation, the only way out to address poor teachers wages in Nigeria is for the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Civil Society Organizations, Media in collaboration with the state and federal lawmakers to carry out coordinated advocacies that will make the Nigerian state put in place National Teacher Minimum Wage legislation that will regulate teachers’ salaries for both private and public schools.
Having gone to the field, conducted key informant interviews and focused group discussions among teachers, school owners, stakeholders in education, and found how terribly teachers are underpaid in Nigeria, which is adversely affecting the quality of education in Nigeria, MAWA foundation, joins stakeholders in education to demand a National Teacher Minimum Wage legislation in Nigeria.
Audu Liberty Oseni,
Coordinator