The Federal Government has approved a special salary scale and new retirement age for teachers.
Minister of Education Adamu Adamu who announced this in Abuja on Monday said that the government also increased the number of service years for the teachers from 35 to 40.
Adamu, at an event in commemoration of the 2020 World Teachers Day, said that the implementation of the new teachers’ salary scheme was to encourage the teachers in delivering better services.
Adam was representing President Muhammadu Buhari at the event.
The answer is the President’s response to the yearning of Nigerian teachers who had been agitating for amongst others, an increase in their retirement age, welfare, and salaries.
The President said the government was aware of the emergency situation in our educational system with particular reference to the dearth of qualified and dedicated teachers at all levels of our educational system.
Acording to him, “To address these challenge and set our country on the path of industrialisation where our educational system will produce the needed skills and manpower, I have approved the following:
“The reintroduction of bursary award to education students in Universities and College of Education with assurance of automatic employment upon graduation, payment of stipends to Bachelor of Education students as well as granting them automatic employment after graduation is now a government policy.
“The Tertiary Education Fund will now fund teaching practice in Universities and Colleges of Education, special salary scale for teachers in basic and secondary schools including provisions for rural posting allowance, science teachers allowance and peculiar allowance.
“Special teacher pension scheme to enable the teaching profession retain its experienced talent as well as extend teachers retirement age to 65 years and teachers service years to 40, create a career path policy for teaching profession in Nigeria and, teachers conversion programme and ICT training to mitigate the current dearth of qualified teachers in the school system.”
Part of the Nigerian education system is poor remuneration for teachers which makes many young men and women to shun teaching.
