New salary scale, service year for teachers as schools open

Nigeria has ordered schools to re-open and approved special salary scale among special incentives to teachers and deployed 60,000 environmental health officers to schools.

President Muhammadu Buhari approved the re-opening of private and public primary, secondary schools as well as universities following the decrease in cases of coronavirus.

The 110 cases recorded on Monday is the highest cases recorded in the last three weeks.

The government said on October 6, 2020 that it would deploy 60,000 Environmental Health Emergency Volunteers to schools in 774 Local Government Areas across the country.

Education minister Adamu Adamu, announced the approved special package for the teachers at the celebration of World Teachers’ Day on October 5, 2020.

Adamu said Buhari approved Special salary scale for basic and secondary school teachers and increase their mandatory service year from 35 to 40.

The government also approved the construction of low-cost houses for teachers in the rural areas; pay special allowance for teachers in the rural areas; and pay peculiar allowance for science teachers.

He said biological children of teachers would henceforth enjoy automatic admission into public schools and enjoy free tuition.

Education graduates would be given automatic employment while the teachers would enjoy loan facilities for agriculture, housing, cars, and motorcycles.

Adamu reported that President Buhari ordered the implementation of the minimum wage for all teachers with immediate effect. Relevant authorities have been directed to also ensure that the 27.5 per cent professional allowance was paid to teachers of Federal Government-owned schools and colleges.

Buhari ordered the Ministry of Education to ensure accelerated implementation of his directives in collaboration with states and local governments, the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the National Salaries, Incomes and Commission, and other relevant agencies.

He added that the approvals would help enthrone a culture of competence, discipline, dedication, increased learning outcomes, and better service delivery in the nation’s education sector.

Teachers have the power to shape and reshape the lives of young people and help learners to enhance their potential.

“A positive or negative influence of a teacher on any child will have an effect on that child. Therefore the Federal Government is ensuring quality education to access.’’

The future of the country will be a function of the quality education delivered to the children today and this depends on the quality of our teachers and “the quality of our teachers depend on the motivation and their motivation depends on how happy they are doing what they are doing’’.

Meanwhile, Mr Mohammad Abubakar, Environment minister, reported that the deployment of the health officials to school was to ensure that the guidelines of the COVID-19 protocols were strictly followed when schools reopen on October 12.

The health officers will be assisting the schools to adopt basic safety measures which include hand washing, compulsory use of face mask, temperature checks as well as physical distancing.

Abubakar said the volunteers will be employed based on their previous performance while carrying out examination surveillance.