According to data from the National Union of Teachers (NUT), while some states have implemented the 2019 minimum wage, it has not been fully applied to teachers at the primary school level in several states.
The affected states where the minimum wage has yet to be fully implemented for teachers include Abia, Adamawa, Benue, Cross River, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Bauchi, and Zamfara.
Additionally, in states such as Anambra, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Enugu, Jigawa, Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Yobe, the minimum wage has not been applied to primary school teachers. In May 2024, the Nigeria Labour Congress in Zamfara State accused the state government of paying teachers as little as N8,000 per month.
Similarly, the Abia State government was accused of not implementing the minimum wage for teachers and other workers. Commenting on the issue, NUT President Titus Amba recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had, during the 2020 World Teachers’ Day, acknowledged the poor status of teachers and announced the approval of various welfare packages to revitalize the education sector.
These incentives included the introduction of a special salary scale for teachers in Basic and Secondary Schools, bursary awards for education students, a special pension scheme to retain experienced teachers, an extension of the retirement age, and the development of a career path policy for the teaching profession.
Other promised benefits were the construction of low-cost housing for teachers in rural areas, access to loan facilities for agriculture, housing, cars, and motorcycles, and free tuition and automatic admission for teachers’ biological children.
However, Amba expressed concern that four years later, many of these approvals remain unimplemented. He called on both the federal and state governments to ensure full implementation of the incentives to improve teacher morale and enhance their performance in the classroom.