Buhari’s ground-breaking investment in teachers

The long-standing dream of Nigerian teachers spectacularly became a reality six days ago when President Muhammadu Buhari approved a special salary scale for teachers in Nigeria just as he also reviewed upward their retirement age and the duration of teaching career to 65 and 40 years respectively. The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu who […]

The long-standing dream of Nigerian teachers spectacularly became a reality six days ago when President Muhammadu Buhari approved a special salary scale for teachers in Nigeria just as he also reviewed upward their retirement age and the duration of teaching career to 65 and 40 years respectively.

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu who represented President Buhari made the announcement on Monday on the occasion of the 2020 World Teachers’ Day (WTD) with the theme “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future”. The special salary scale approved for teachers in basic and secondary schools also includes provision for rural posting allowance, science teachers allowance and peculiar allowance.

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President Buhari also approved the building of low-cost houses for teachers in rural areas just as he assured of prompt payment of salaries and timely promotion to eliminate stagnation. “This is in addition to the Teachers Conversion Programme (TCP) and ICT training to mitigate the current dearth of qualified teachers in the school system”, he said. Buhari’s declaration that “Only great teachers can produce excellent people and students that will make the future of our country great”, lends credence to the fact that no country develops beyond the quality of its teachers.

Other aspects of the motivation package announced for Nigeria teachers include the reintroduction of bursary award to education students in universities and colleges of education with the assurance of automatic employment upon graduation. Malam Adamu Adamu said the Tertiary Education Fund (TETFUND) has further been directed to fund teaching practice in universities and colleges of education.

Some conceivable gains of this policy include the fact that teaching would henceforth cease to be a dumping ground. It would no longer be an all-comers’ affair particularly for those who lack the requisite training or qualification to be teachers. The full implementation of these incentives shall adequately empower educational administrators and policy makers to reject untrained or unqualified persons. Teachers without TRCN must not be allowed to enjoy these incentives.  Indeed, no more square pegs in round holes where those who were trained for jobs other than teaching will take up teaching jobs because they can’t find opportunities for the jobs they were trained. Square pegs should now be in square holes.

Teachers should reciprocate this progressive gesture by making it possible for government to reap quality dividends from its investment in them. Greater dedication by teachers to their professional duties as well as quality learning outcomes in learners especially in public schools are some of the immediate results, which government and indeed Nigerians would want to get from this landmark investment in Nigerian teachers. If truth be told, remaining on the teaching job beyond 35 years of service or 60 years of age shouldn’t be a pack of ‘Father Christmas’ gift. It should rather be earned. Otherwise, it would lead to keeping redundant teachers who have out-lived their usefulness in service. Anything that comes a man’s way, which he did not earn, is most often not valued. Even universities that have similar retirement privileges, not all lecturers remain in service until the retirement age of 70 years. Lecturers who fail to earn promotion to professorial cadre retire at 65 years of age instead of 70. Qualitative caveats should be set and upon which teachers will earn the extension of their years of service. This will inspire them to remain productive during these extra 5 years.

When the implementation of this set of incentives takes off, the other area that would require government attention is that of facilities, which may take some time to fix due to long years of neglect. This can be addressed gradually because the evils associated with coping with crowded classrooms are lesser than the evils of coping with untrained or unqualified teachers. This does not, however, seek to downplay the importance of facilities. No matter how well-trained, well-qualified and well-remunerated teachers may be, a situation where a teacher manages 100 learners in one classroom is likely to affect the quality of improvement expected in pupils or students’ learning experiences.

Infrastructural facilities could be addressed by state governments if they adequately access counterpart funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). Many state governments have never lived up to their expectations in this regard. This characteristic failure is mostly the result of their inability to account for previous disbursements.

Teachers acknowledge and are happy that President Buhari’s administration is not known for empty promises. Teachers do not, therefore, envisage that the implementation of the teachers’ special scale would suffer any bureaucratic delays. An Act of the national assembly that will provide for the immediate implementation of this new policy should be enacted along with an effective date that should not be later than the 2020 WTD (October 5, 2020). It is only apt that all financial obligations relating to its implementation should have fully been captured in the 2021 appropriation bill presented by President Buhari to the joint session of the national assembly two days ago, on Thursday October 8, 2020.

It will not be out of place to earnestly warn IPPIS officials in the office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AcGF) not to ‘put sand in the gari that Baba-Buhari has soaked for Nigerian teachers’. Operators of IPPIS have, in recent years, earned themselves bad name among Nigerian workers as they ‘cut’ what suits their minds from workers’ salaries and ‘paste’ same where only they and God knows. The same caution goes to state governors who are traditionally known for dragging feet when it comes to the payment of workers’ wages particularly teachers. The payment of N30, 000 minimum wage is a case in point.

It would be recalled that the WTD is held annually on 5 October since 1994 to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO recommendation concerning the status of teachers. WTD has become the occasion to reflect on ways to counter the challenges confronting the teaching profession. WTD is co-convened in partnership with UNICEF, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Education International (EI).

While President Buhari would for ever be remembered for changing the lowly pedigree and awkward narrative of the teaching profession in Nigeria, Malam Adamu Adamu deserves a million pat on the back for pushing the demands of Nigerian teachers through. This is ground-breaking, revolutionary, great, historical and awesome. Other ministers in Buhari’s cabinet are encouraged to make similar positive impacts in their respective MDAs. May Allah (SWT) guide and support the efforts of all relevant stakeholders toward the achievement of the Education 2030 agenda, amin.

Hurray, Nigerian teachers! Happy 2020 World Teachers’ Day!!