In the past, the teaching profession was seen as one of the most noble professions anyone could find themselves in. Teachers were seen as the moulders of society because every professional went through the tutelage of a teacher.
However, teachers have become the dregs of society, especially those in private schools.
Private school teachers, especially those in Jos, the capital of Plateau State, have been reduced to mere tools by school proprietors to be used and dumped at will.
They face severe low-income and poor working conditions, highlighting their silent struggles but with a resilience that goes to show that if given the right conditions to work, they will excel.
Though private schools have become the largest employer of labour in Jos with many of them springing up in almost every street, the teachers they employ have been the ones at the receiving end as their salaries and remuneration are nothing to write home about.
Findings by DAILY POST show that some private schools pay NCE, HND, BSc, and Master’s degree holders between N10,000 and N25,000 monthly and the teacher may not have a salary increase for the next five to ten years of teaching.
Even when the salary is increased, it may not be more than 10% of the basic salary.
Teaching in a private school, therefore, has become a means to an end with the teachers just hanging in there waiting for an opportunity to come up, and off they go.
Some teachers who spoke about their silent struggles while trying to build the lives of their pupils, say they get ‘imprisoned’ almost all day between 7am and 3pm and at the end of the month, they are paid paltry sums that do not last up to a week.
Most of them are made to take classes from JSS1 to SS3 and as to be expected, these overworked and underpaid teachers cannot give their best, thereby contributing to the falling standard of education in the state.
The school proprietors too do not help matters in any form or shade.
As soon as a teacher starts to grumble and ask questions, they are relieved and replaced almost immediately.
It has become a regular sight to see teachers engaging in manual labour at construction sites, farms, and even illegal mining sites to augment their poor income.
Some private school teachers revealed that they had no option but to endure the hardship while looking forward to better days ahead.
First to speak was Ezekiel Atangs who has been a private school teacher for over 15 years.
He said, “I have been teaching in private schools for the past 15 years and I can say that my experiences have never been palatable. Where I am currently working is my third but the story has been the same.
“I have been here for the past four years on a N15,000 salary. There has never been an increment and anytime we approach the proprietor for an increase, she will tell us that anyone who is not happy with the salary can leave.
“I have a wife and three children, so I have to engage in menial labour to augment the stipend I get from my teaching job. When I close and during weekends, I go to construction sites to work. If not, my family will starve.”
Another private school teacher, Ishaya Bitson, also shared his bitter experience.
“I can tell you in all honesty that private school teachers in Plateau State are really suffering.
“I have a degree in education but all efforts to get a job with either the state or federal governments have proved abortive, I had to pick a job with a popular private school in Jos.
“On the surface, the school is one of the most prestigious in Jos with the school fees running into hundreds of thousands of naira. But it will interest you to know that the teachers are poorly paid.
“When I was employed five years ago, my salary was N20,000 with the promise of a review after one year but since then, I have been stuck on the same salary.
“Whenever I approach the principal to talk about the increase, he will tell me to be patient or if I can’t cope any longer, I should put in my resignation letter. We are really suffering in silence,” he lamented.
For Leonard Bagudu, the story is the same.
“I have an NCE and I’ve been teaching in a private school for the past eight years on a salary of N12,000 with no hope of a change in the near future.
“I teach JSS3 to SS3, yet I am not happy. Imagine resuming work at 7am and teaching all round till 3pm, yet you are paid a paltry sum. I can tell you that no private school teacher in Jos is happy due to the poor salaries we get,” he disclosed.
A school proprietor, who spoke on the poor salary package for teachers however, claimed there was nothing they could do than pay whatever they can afford.
“Yes, there is no doubt the salary of private school teachers is poor but there is nothing much we can do about it. Everyone knows the current economic situation in the country and we barely survive or break even after paying levies to the state ministry of education and other relevant authorities.
“Some parents also do not help matters as they don’t pay their children’s fees on time and this too affects what we manage to pay our teachers.
“Many people think we proprietors are the ones enjoying it, but I can tell you that we barely break even,” he narrated.
However, an assistant director in the Plateau State Ministry of Education, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, stated that there is little or nothing the ministry can do as the salaries of the private schools are not regulated by the government.
According to him, “We have had complaints of poor salaries paid by private schools but there is nothing the ministry can do because they are regulated by the government.
“Private schools, just like other private organizations, are at liberty to negotiate their salary structure with their staff but all we have been telling them is to be fair to their employees.
“We have heard of private school teachers being paid as low as N10,000 or N15,000 and we have been talking with them to find a balance and raise these salaries.”
