On the occasion of World Teachers’ Day (WTD), the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) has called for a minimum wage of N200,000 for Nigerian teachers in both public and private schools.
ERC further advocated improved working conditions and end to public education underfunding and commercialization which, they say, are pricing education out of the reach of children from poor background.
Also, it called for adequate provision of teachers, decent classrooms, libraries, laboratories and other functional facilities that aid quality education in public schools such that private schools are made unnecessary or less attractive to the working class and middle class people.
A statement by ERC’s Deputy National Coordinator and National Mobilization Officer, Isaac Ogunjimi and Adaramoye Michael Lenin respectively; lamented that Nigerian teachers, both in public and private institutions, are among the most poorly compensated workers in the country.
According to the statement, public school teachers, in particular, face a host of challenges, including overcrowded classrooms, dilapidated infrastructure, and hazardous working conditions.
ERC further highlighted the disturbing number of teachers who have fallen victim to insecurity, with over 2,295 teachers killed, 19,000 displaced, and 910 schools damaged or destroyed in the North East between 2009 and 2022 due to the Boko Haram insurgency according to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
“These circumstances leave behind families grappling with poverty and a lack of provisions for occupational and environmental hazards. Private school teachers are also enduring dire conditions, often earning less than the N30,000 minimum wage. Despite many private schools charging substantial fees, private school proprietors have reportedly been preventing teachers from joining the Private School Teachers Union of Nigeria (PRISCTUN) to avoid demands for improved conditions.
“Just as workers are central to capitalist system of production as no wheel can turn without them, teachers who are knowledge producers are the lifeblood of every successful educational system. Unfortunately, successive anti-poor capitalist governments in Nigeria have failed to take care of teachers instead turning them to paupers while expecting quality service delivery from them and improved educational outcomes.”
It therefore used the occasion of the World Teachers’ Day to call on the employers group, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), to recognize the right to independent trade unionism by allowing teachers in their employ to freely exercise their constitutionally-guaranteed right to join PRISCTUN without any victimization.
ERC also urged the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to openly back PRISCTUN and help build the union to enable it defend the interest of private school teachers. “We call for unity between the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and PRISCTUN to fight for improved pay and working conditions for all teachers, recognition of rights to independent unionism and proper funding of education.”
In the same vein, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has hailed teachers, saying, they do not only contribute significantly to the academic world but also the development of society at large.
The national president of the association, Chief Yomi Otubela said that teachers as role models to children need support in various areas including psychological support, mental wellness, job security, remuneration, and technological support among others to successfully carry out their roles.
He called on government at all levels, school owners and administrators to ensure that learning institutions are adequately secured from threats that could hurt the learning process.
“World Teachers’ Day provides a unique opportunity to appreciate our esteemed teachers for their immense contribution to the growth and development of the education sector. As we celebrate the virtues and heroic qualities of our teachers, I would like to thank all teachers for their support, diligence, and dedication to the teaching profession.”
