President Muhammadu Buhari has approved a special salary scale for teachers in the country.
While disclosing this on Monday October 5, 2020, Buhari stated that the initiative was in commemoration of the World Teachers Day.
The President also noted that the number of years of service would be increased from 35 to 40.
The education minister, Adamu Adamu, who represented President Buhari at the Teachers’ Day celebration in Abuja, said the implementation of the new salary scheme was to encourage teachers in delivering quality services.
The World Teachers’ Day has been held annually on October 5 since 1994 to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers.
According to UNESCO, this recommendation sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions.
“The recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching and research personnel in higher education,” the organisation says.
“With the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education, and the dedicated target (SDG 4.c) recognizing teachers as key to the achievement of the Education 2030 agenda, WTD has become the occasion to mark progress and reflect on ways to counter the remaining challenges for the promotion of the teaching profession,” it adds.
