Unpaid teachers’ salaries and recurring strikes are undermining the federal government’s education targets, preventing Nigeria from achieving high development scores.
Under President Bola Tinubu, primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja were forced to go on strike for over three months over unpaid salaries and arrears.
In Abia State, under Governor Alex Otti, teachers declared an indefinite strike on April 24 over unpaid salaries and unresolved grievances with the state government.
Among the issues raised were the exclusion of teachers from the minimum wage and the teachers’ salary structure in the March 2025 salary, continued retirements of the Abia State Universal Basic Education Board (ASUBEB) staff despite approval of 65 years/40 years of service extension, non-payment of arrears to basic school teachers, and haphazard promotions.
Similarly, in Taraba State, teachers were subjected to backlogs of unpaid salaries spanning over four months. No fewer than 20 governors failed to pay the minimum wage of N70,000 to workers, including teachers.
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The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) recently announced an indefinite strike over the non-payment of salaries to its members in federal polytechnics.
Other issues raised included non-implementation and payment of a 25 percent and 35 percent salary increases, and non-implementation and payment of a 40 percent peculiar allowance.
The decision came on the heels of what ASUP described as ‘protracted and unjustifiable delays’ in the payment of monthly salaries for eight consecutive months, leaving thousands of lecturers in financial distress.
Strike threat
The Academic Staff Union of Universities has (ASUU) expressed frustration over the prolonged stalemate in its renegotiation with the federal government on key issues affecting university lecturers and the education sector.
Chris Piwuna, ASUU president, explained the union had run out of patience with the government’s failure to take concrete action, despite years of promises and discussions.
Piwuna cited the 2009 agreement with the government, which outlines crucial matters such as conditions of service, university autonomy, academic freedom, sustainable funding, and earned academic allowances.
What stakeholders are saying
Jessica Osuere, chief executive officer at RubiesHub Educational Services, is worried that the government does not seem to have regard for education and educators.
“It seems the nation is in perpetual conflict with its educators. When polytechnic lecturers down tools, ASUU threatens strike, and state-employed teachers go months unpaid, we must ask ourselves, ‘What kind of education transformation is possible in a climate that consistently devalues educators?’
“The federal government’s promise of transformative education anchored on access, quality, and equity, among others, is fundamentally undermined by the persistent maltreatment of educators,” she said.
Osuere emphasised that Nigeria cannot achieve education transformation by rhetoric alone, noting that quality education requires intentional investment in the welfare, dignity, and development of educators at all levels.
“Strikes and salary arrears are not just administrative challenges; they are symptoms of a deeper malaise, a complete disconnect between policy declarations and actual political will.
“An education system in which professionals are forced to protest for their basic rights sends a clear message to young people that knowledge is not truly valued, and those who impart it are expendable. That’s why ‘school na scam’ has become a popular saying among our teeming youths,” she noted.
She reiterated that the disconnect between policy and practice has made several education reforms fail outrightly.
“You cannot inspire excellence in students when their teachers are demoralised, overworked, and unpaid,” she said.
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Stanley Boroh, a senior lecturer at the Federal University Otuoke, said the ASUU strike is long overdue, noting that it is the only language the government seems to understand.
He emphasised that no serious nation jokes with its education workforce. He said that the way forward is to treat academics well and pay educators living wages.
“We have a government that doesn’t care about our educational system and the reason isn’t far-fetched: their children don’t go to school in Nigeria,” he said.
Misplacement of priorities
However, Friday Erhabor, a parent, though frowned on the tertiary education funding, emphasised that the persistent ASUU strike is a misplacement of priority.
“While it’s expected for the governments to fund education, the various institutions should be creative with their internally generated revenue to complement governments’ funds.
“ASUU shouldn’t be issuing threats. Even for the fund released to universities, accountability is also an issue,” he said.
