The Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Dr. Ronke Soyombo, has raised serious concerns over the poor remuneration of teachers in some private schools, disclosing that some educators still earn as little as N20,000 per month.
Dr. Soyombo made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking at the Annual Summit of the Conference for Private School Associations in Lagos, themed “Transformation of Education in Lagos State.”
She emphasised that improving teachers’ welfare is critical to raising the overall standard of education, describing teachers as the foundation of any quality education system.
The TRCN registrar narrated the story of an award-winning teacher from a private school who sold the car he received as a prize because of his meagre salary.
“I remember when Governor Dapo Abiodun and I were going to present a car to the best teacher. He was from a private school. He got a car. A week later, I saw him walking on the road and asked what happened to the car. He said he had sold it. When I asked why, he said he was being paid N20,000 monthly,” she said.
Soyombo noted that poor remuneration remains a major factor affecting teacher motivation and retention. She stressed the need for better pay to retain quality educators.
“If we want good service, we have to pay teachers well. For us to get quality service from good teachers and stop them from looking left, right and centre... let’s pay teachers good money,” she added.
She acknowledged the fears of private school proprietors who worry that investing in teacher training could lead to staff moving to better-paying schools.
“Proprietors are scared and worried that if we improve the standard of our teachers, would they stay or go to other schools? We have to look at the conditions of service and make teachers the cornerstone of a quality educational system,” she stated.
Dr. Soyombo maintained that Nigeria cannot transform its education sector without prioritising the teaching profession and fostering stronger collaboration with private schools. She lamented that many education reforms fail because teachers are often sidelined in policy implementation.
“Teachers remain the cornerstone of quality education systems. A lot of people try to improve education while ignoring the teachers from the outset,” she said.
The registrar called for stronger teacher regulation, continuous professional development, safeguarding mechanisms, and the responsible integration of artificial intelligence in classrooms.
She also disclosed that TRCN has upgraded its digital teacher portal for easier registration, licensing, certification, and verification, and plans to launch a nationwide mobile application for teachers. The council is also strengthening safeguarding measures, including a toll-free line for reporting sexual abuse and professional misconduct, as well as criminal record checks for teachers.
Also speaking at the summit, renowned entrepreneur and former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Ibukun Awosika, highlighted that effective leadership remains the most critical factor in achieving meaningful transformation in the education sector.
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