Borno LEA Teachers Lament Underpayment, Want Minimum Wage Implemented
By Hafsat Ibrahim
Teachers at the Local Education Authority, LEA, have expressed worry over underpayment despite the approval of the National Minimum Wage by the Federal Government.
The victims recounted their plight to PRNIGERIA in an interview on Monday.
A primary school teacher who asked to remain anonymous said that his salary is less than 7, 000 since he started working in the local government.
He said: “That is how we live and yet they are accusing some of us of underperformance. I don’t even devote my time to teaching because I have a family to cater to. I mostly do other things to help myself financially. They have been saying that we will receive minimum wage but to no avail.”
Teachers from Damboa and Biu Local Government Areas also spoke about their salaries.
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“I am from Damboa but my July salary is 6,552 naira. That’s how I’ve been coping with it for years. I don’t even know what to say about it but I know that I can’t give the best with this meager amount I receive as a monthly salary. I am qualified but I don’t get what I deserve,” he lamented.
“I am from Biu. I am ashamed of talking about my salary because it won’t even sustain me for a week. I have one wife and two kids. Sometimes I borrow money from my friends to feed my family. I do other things to get money and feed my family and pay my debts. Honestly, we need to be pitied by the government,” he said.
Borno State Commissioner for Education Lawan Abba Wakilbe said in a Facebook message that the said teachers are undergoing mandatory deductions for the Npower fund they were accessing while working which he described as illegal.
He said: “The verification committee asked them to refund the amount accessed via cheating the system/government or face sack. That’s why their salary is low.”
Wakilbe added that the successful 5439 teachers who passed the competency test for teachers based on class three (3) standards will start enjoying the minimum wage soon.
He however didn’t mention the specific time they will start enjoying the 30,000 minimum wage as approved by the Federal Government.
