In a bid to curb the migration of qualified Nigerian teachers to foreign countries, the House of Representatives has called for an improvement in their salaries.
During a plenary session, the lawmakers noted that the inadequate salary structure for teachers had resulted in a significant number of them seeking better-paying jobs outside the country. This, they said, was responsible for the decline in the quality of education in Nigeria.
According to the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, the poor pay structure had also discouraged young people from taking up teaching as a profession, exacerbating the shortage of teachers in the country.
The lawmakers, therefore, urged the Federal Ministry of Education to work with relevant agencies to review the salary structure of teachers in Nigeria. They also called on state governments to ensure that their teachers’ salaries were commensurate with their qualifications and responsibilities.
Furthermore, they emphasized the need to invest in the professional development of teachers through continuous training and retraining programs, noting that an upskilled teaching workforce would improve the quality of education in Nigeria.
In conclusion, the House of Representatives called on the Federal Government to prioritize the education sector and ensure timely and adequate funding to improve the standards and quality of education in the country. They also urged the government to work towards addressing other challenges facing the education sector, including inadequate infrastructure, poor learning outcomes, and the increasing rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria.
It is hoped that the government will act on these recommendations to prevent the continued migration of qualified Nigerian teachers and improve the quality of education in the country.
