Dr Salihi Ateequ, the Executive Chairman, Adamawa State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), has said that no single primary school teacher has been promoted in the state in the last 14 years.
Mr Ateequ said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Yola.
According to him, all primary school teachers in the state are still been paid with the old minimum wage of ₦18,000.
The chairman said it was unfortunate that primary school teachers in the state were yet to start enjoying the minimum wage of ₦32,000.
“Primary school teachers in the state have not been promoted for the past 14 years and it is very demoralising.
“Also, primary school teachers are currently being paid with old minimum wage of ₦18,000 instead of new minimum wage of ₦32,000 like their counterparts in the state civil service,” Mr Ateequ said.
He said the fundamental issues facing education in the state were inherited from the previous administrations.
He described the situation as ‘terrible’, saying that many teachers had been working for 14 years with some already retired or dead without being promoted.
“We all know the present administration of Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri came to power on 29 May, 2019. He inherited the stagnant promotion of primary school teachers.
”The board sat down , analysed the situation and finally took the advise to the government overcomes and solve the tragic condition.
“We took the data of all those who are supposed to be promoted and upgraded for the past 14 years; we found that the amount involved is enormous,” the chairman said.
He, however, said the board had advised the state government to consider the payment in batches to gradually reduce the burden.
He said the government was advised to pay for four years at once and another four years in block, adding that within a short period all the amount will be paid.
He said the challenge must be addressed to prevent the collapse of primary school education in the state.
“Similarly, the issue of minimum wage, primary school teachers in the state are not included and the case was channeled to the state Head of Civil Service.
“The Board needs extra N3 million to add to its monthly N15 million subvention, making it ₦18 million to pay the minimum wage of the teachers.
“We have over 4,000 teachers and almost all of them need promotion and in 2021 we promoted staff of the Board.
“Our primary responsibility is to see basic education run smoothly and primary school teachers are taken care of,” he said.
Recall that in July 2021, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, expressed concern over the low morale and poor welfare package for teachers in Adamawa
Mairama Dikwa, the Education Specialist, UNICEF Field Office, observed during the inauguration of the Technical and Vocational Education program in the Hong Local Government Area of the state.
Despite spite of the achievements recorded in some areas such as high pupils enrolment and building classrooms, there were still some areas such as the inadequacy of teachers to be addressed.
NAN
