The chairman of the House Committee on University Education, Abubakar Fulata, has proposed salaries of N250,000, N500,000, and N1 million for primary, secondary, and university teachers, respectively.
his occurred as Professor Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, expressed his concern that despite the presence of commendable education policies, Nigeria’s educational system has not yet made a significant contribution to the nation’s social and economic progress.
Both of them made these statements on Thursday in Abuja during a one-day National Stakeholders Workshop focused on creating a roadmap for the Nigerian Education Sector (2023-2027), organized by the Federal Ministry of Education.
Fulata emphasized that to attain a high standard of education, no primary school teacher should receive a salary lower than N250,000, while secondary school teachers and university lecturers should earn N500,000 and N1 million respectively.
He said: “If you want quality education you must pay them to teach your children very well. Teachers must also be encouraged as it is obtained in the other climes.”
Fulata, who additionally urged for an education emergency declaration, also urged the federal government to allocate a minimum of 25 percent to 30 percent of the national budget for education.
Hear him: “The nation must declare a state of emergency in education. We must commit at least 25 percent or 30 percent of our national budget to education.”
Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, expressed his concern that the country’s education system was not effectively linked with its society and economy, emphasizing that this state of affairs is not sustainable.
He affirmed that his ministry is resolute in altering this situation to align with the goals outlined in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Mamman said: “Our education system is not connected to our society or our economy, we cannot say for certain that we are key contributors either locally or globally to the ideas which push societies forward.”
Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, expressed his concern that the country’s education system was not effectively linked with its society and economy, emphasizing that this state of affairs is not sustainable.
He affirmed that his ministry is resolute in altering this situation to align with the goals outlined in President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“When we receive briefings from agencies we will see fantastic policies on education but the problem is our people do not see those policies on the ground, they are not seeing the problem addressed and no longer seeing the value of sending their children to school,” he said.
Professor Mamman emphasized that the large number of jobless graduates is a result of the inadequate alignment of their education with the needs of industries.
The minister pointed out that industries have raised concerns about educational institutions producing graduates who lack the necessary skills for employment.
He clarified that the purpose of the workshop is to create a roadmap that addresses these issues, making it a problem-solving initiative. He further emphasized that the government has a limited timeframe to devise a strategy for the comprehensive transformation of the education sector, spanning from primary to tertiary levels.
Nonetheless, the minister encouraged state governments to fulfill their responsibilities in tackling the challenges within the realm of basic education, highlighting that the federal government is responsible for approximately 120 unity colleges, with the majority of the burden falling on the states.
Earlier, Dr. Yusuf Tanko, the Minister of State for Education, expressed that the input from stakeholders in the workshop will play a crucial role in preparing the younger generation for the future and in fostering the nation’s development.
He observed that although the significance of education is widely acknowledged, tangible outcomes demonstrating that an educated individual enjoys an enhanced quality of life are yet to materialize.
“This disconnection between purpose and reality could be said to be responsible for inadequate attention to the sector, wrong perceptions of the relative importance of the different forms and types of education,” he said.
“I must also say that the inability of our youths to gain employment after going through the rigors of academia may be responsible for gradually building disinterest in the pursuit of education,” he said.