Twelve states of the federation are yet to implement the 2019 minimum wage of N30,000 for teachers.
Data from the National Union of Teachers showed that though some states implemented the 2019 minimum wage, it was not fully implemented for teachers at primary school levels.
The affected states where the wage was not yet implemented for teachers generally are Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Cross River, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Bauchi and Zamfara.
The data, however, showed that in the states of Anambra, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Nasarawa and Yobe, the minimum wage was not implemented for teachers in primary schools.
In May 2024, the Nigeria Labour Congress in Zamfara State accused the state government of paying teachers the sum of N8,000 monthly.
The Abia State government was also accused of failure to implement the minimum wage, not just for teachers but also for other workers in the state.
Commenting on the development, the NUT President, Titus Amba, said, “It would be recalled that the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari used the 2020 World Teachers’ Day to acknowledge the low status of teachers and announce the approval of some welfare packages for teachers to revitalise and reposition the education sector for greater service delivery in the country.
”These incentives included: payment of Special Salary Scale for teachers in Basic and Secondary Schools; reintroduction of bursary award to education students in universities and colleges of education; special teachers pension scheme to enable the teaching profession retain its experienced talents as well as to extend teachers’ retirement age and the development of a career path policy for teaching profession in Nigeria.”
Other incentives are “Building of low-cost houses for teachers in rural areas; provision of loan facilities for agriculture, housing, cars, motorcycles, and others to support teachers earnings; free tuition and automatic admission for biological children of teachers, among others.
“It is worrisome, however, to observe that four years after, most of the approvals have remained unimplemented.
“We at this moment call on both the federal and state governments to ensure full implementation of the approved incentives to boost the morale of teachers in the discharge of their professional duties.”
Credit: The PUNCH
