Across Nigeria, the very individuals responsible for shaping the nation’s destiny and its teachers are quietly bearing the brunt of systemic neglect. From urban classrooms to rural blackboards, the stories are the same: of unpaid salaries, poor welfare, and diminishing societal respect. While teachers continue to nurture the minds of future doctors, engineers, and even politicians, many of them can barely feed their families or afford rent. The irony is painful: the educators of a nation are reduced to beggars in the very system they uphold.
Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the average monthly salary of a Nigerian public-school teacher at the basic and secondary level is around ₦70,000, while some state governments pay as little as ₦49,000. In comparison, a Nigerian senator earns over ₦13 million monthly in salary and allowances, according to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). The wage disparity is stark and exposes not just a funding issue but a deep societal value crisis.
Teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have not been paid since January 2025, marking over eight months of salary arrears. Many have abandoned classrooms to engage in menial jobs. A teacher in Gwagwalada, Abuja, who pleaded anonymity, told The Nigeria Education News: “I now fry akara every evening to feed my three children. I taught English for 14 years, but today, I stand beside a hot pot just to survive.” Her story mirrors that of dozens across the FCT and other parts of the country.
Education experts argue that Nigeria is not just facing an educational crisis it is suffering from a respect crisis. “We treat teachers like expendable tools,” says Dr. Oluwafemi Alao, an education policy analyst. “Until we value educators as central to our national development, we will continue to suffer poor educational outcomes.” UNESCO recommends that developing nations allocate at least 15–20% of their national budgets to education, yet Nigeria budgeted just 7.9% in 2024, well below the global average.
While the government rolls out large-scale policies like school feeding and digital learning hubs, it continues to ignore the foundation of teacher welfare. Many teachers go months without pay and work in dilapidated environments, often buying chalk and teaching materials with personal funds. According to a recent survey by BudgIT Nigeria, over 38% of public school teachers have had to borrow money or take side jobs to sustain themselves due to irregular payments.
The emotional toll is equally damaging. “We are demotivated,” says Mr. Emmanuel Ojo, a teacher in Ogun State. “How do you expect a man who hasn’t been paid for half a year to be passionate in class?” He recalled how one of his colleagues left teaching to become a ride-hailing driver in Lagos. “He now makes more money daily than he ever earned monthly as a teacher,” he said.
In many public schools, classrooms are overcrowded, with student-teacher ratios often exceeding 70:1, far above the UNESCO-recommended ratio of 30:1. This overstretch further burdens teachers, who are expected to prepare lesson notes, mark scripts, manage discipline, and meet parents all while struggling to meet basic survival needs.
One would expect a country whose leaders constantly speak of ‘developing the next generation’ to treat educators as national treasures. Yet, the reverse is the case. Teachers are left without training opportunities, career progression, or healthcare. “We give our best, but the system gives us nothing back,” lamented Mrs. Halima Ibrahim, a teacher in Nasarawa State, who said she hasn’t attended any sponsored workshop since 2018.
Meanwhile, the children of many public officials, including governors and ministers, attend private schools or universities abroad, where teachers are well paid and respected. The hypocrisy of such double standards is not lost on the average Nigerian. “How can a government that doesn’t pay its teachers lecture citizens on patriotism?” asked Chukwuemeka Onuoha, a university lecturer. “Patriotism begins with equity.”
Beyond salaries, teachers are owed dignity, security, and the professional development opportunities that will help them excel. Numerous studies, including a 2023 report by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), confirm that investments in teacher training directly improve student performance. Yet, Nigeria’s teacher education funding continues to decline annually.
The public must also shoulder some of the blame. “We’ve normalized the image of struggling teachers,” says education activist, Ifeoma Okonkwo. “We joke about teachers earning peanuts, forgetting that these are the people building our future.” Society has, over time, accepted the devaluation of the teaching profession, which has created a ripple effect on how young people perceive education as a career path.
Yet, amidst the gloom, many Nigerians remember that one teacher who changed their life, the one who saw something in them before they saw it in themselves. The teacher who stayed after class, mentored, and inspired. What many don’t realize is that that same teacher could now be selling fruits at a street corner, a victim of a failed system that refused to reward excellence.
Nigeria does not just owe teachers their unpaid salaries, it owes them respect, investment, and priority. Without them, there would be no professionals, no nation builders, no future. As the government prepares to launch new national policies, one truth remains: until we fix the broken respect chain, education in Nigeria will remain a shell of its true potential.
