By Salihu Othman Isah
Every October 5, we celebrate World Teachers Day. We roll out the drums. We invite dignitaries. We give speeches about how teachers are the foundation of nation-building. We quote Malala, we quote Mandela, we quote the Prophet (SAW) – “The best of you are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.” Then by October 6, we forget them.
This ritual hypocrisy must stop.
If we truly believe that no nation can rise above the quality of its teachers, then what our tutors take home at the end of the month should reflect that belief. Today, it does not.
Look at the reality. A primary school teacher in many Northern states takes home between N35,000 and N55,000 after 8, 10, 12 years of service. A secondary school teacher on Grade Level 08, Step 5, after university degree, PGDE, TRCN registration, still earns less than N100,000 in some states. Meanwhile, a political appointee with no known certificate earns N500,000 monthly as Special Assistant on New Media, plus allowances.
What signal are we sending to our children? That to teach is to suffer? That to mould destinies is to be poor?
Let us be honest. Nigeria has inverted its value system. We pay those who distract us more than those who build us. A reality show winner gets N100 million in 72 days. A teacher who produced 30 years of doctors, engineers, journalists, governors, gets a plastic kettle and certificate of service on retirement, then dies waiting for gratuity.
This is why we are where we are.
There was a time in this country when teacher was king. In the 60s and 70s, the teacher’s house was next to the District Officer’s house. In the village, the teacher was second only to the chief. Parents brought yams, chickens, goats to the teacher, not because he begged, but because they respected knowledge. The teacher’s children were well-dressed because the teacher’s salary meant something.
Today, ask any child in JSS2: Do you want to be a teacher? He will laugh at you. He wants to be Big Brother housemate, Yahoo Yahoo, footballer, skit maker. Not teacher. Because he sees his own teacher trekking to school, wearing one shoe, borrowing chalk.
I spoke to a teacher in Abaji last month. 17 years in service. He told me: “Comrade, I have not been promoted in five years. My last promotion arrears have not been paid. I teach sixty eight pupils in a class meant for 30. No teaching aid. No staff room. When I fall sick, I pay from my pocket. But on Teachers Day, they will invite me to Eagle Square to clap for politicians.”
That is the Nigerian teacher’s story.
So what should our tutors’ take-home pay look like?
First, let us agree on a living wage benchmark. A bag of rice is N85,000. House rent in Karu, Nasarawa, even a self-contain, is N300,000 per annum. Transport from Mararaba to Wuse daily is N2,500. How can a man earning N45,000 survive? He cannot. He will be forced to cut corners – to farm during school hours, to do private lessons and neglect his primary assignment, to extort parents, to be perpetually demoralized.
Therefore, as Peace and Unity Media Advocacy (PUMA) has advocated over time, we need a radical restructuring:
*. National Minimum for Teachers: N150,000 Entry.*
No teacher, whether National Certificate of Education, NCE, primary or secondary, should earn below N150,000 net. This is not luxury; it is survival. In Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, teachers earn far above civil service average. Nigeria should set Teachers Salary Scale (TSS) separate from general civil service, with 50% premium.
*. Rural Allowance: 40% Extra.*
Any teacher posted to rural area – Gwagwalada interior, Ilaje swamp, Birnin Gwari forest should get forty percent (40%) rural hardship allowance plus free accommodation. Today we post teachers to remote places with no incentive. They refuse posting. Children stay six months without teacher. Then we blame them for poor West African Examination Council, WAEC performance.
*. Automatic Promotion and Arrears.*
A teacher should not beg for promotion. After every three years, promotion should be automatic with cash backing. Every Teachers Day, states should clear all promotion arrears as matter of policy.
*. Health Insurance and Housing.*
Teachers must have comprehensive NHIS for family, plus Teachers Housing Scheme. Federal Mortgage Bank, FMB should create Teachers Mortgage at single-digit interest. A man who builds nation should own a house before retirement.
*. Retirement with Dignity.*
Teachers should retire on Grade Level 17 equivalent, with gratuity paid within ninety days. Not three years after death. And free education for two of his children up to university level, as pension benefit.
Some will say: Where will money come from? I ask: Where does money for 400 Special Assistants, SA come from? Where does money for N160m SUV for legislators come from? Where does money for delegates come from? The money exists. What is lacking is priority.
Look at Lagos State. Governor Sanwo-Olu pays teachers better than most states, with EKO Excel incentives, and results show as Lagos leads in literacy. Look at Kaduna under former administration with an aggressive teacher reform, even though controversial, showed will. So it can be done.
I have said it before: Security is foundation for national unity and development. But education is the foundation for security. An educated child will not carry AK-47 for N10,000. An educated girl will not be forced into early marriage at 12. An educated society will not vote for incompetence.
If we want peace, pay the teacher. If we want unity, pay the teacher. If we want development, pay the teacher.
Tomorrow, when we gather at Eagle Square, at states’ pavilions, let us not just clap. Let us ask governors: Show us your teachers’ pay slip. Show us your TSS table. Show us your rural allowance voucher.
A nation that does not pay its teachers well has already mortgaged its future and that’s the same way we did with Almajiri. The two syndromes are linked: neglected children and demoralized teachers.
On this Teachers Day, I salute every Nigerian tutor who still goes to class despite N35,000 salary. You are the true heroes. But heroism without payment is slavery.
We must pay them what they deserve.
● Comrade Othman Isah is Executive Director, Peace and Unity Media Advocacy (PUMA), Abuja. He was former SA Media and Publicity to Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.