The Federal Government has debunked the news that it will pay the salaries of private school teachers from March till present.
The Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Ben Goong, disclosed this is an interview granted to Nigeria Info.
According to Goong in the interview, government including the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) is not in the know of the precise wage bill of private school teachers in Nigeria.
“The sheer number of private schools in the country will tell you that it is unrealistic. It would take about half of the nation’s budget to pay these salaries. In fact, nobody can tell you precisely the wage bill of teachers in private schools across Nigeria. It is fake news”.
The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, has also refuted claims that the FG would pay salaries of teachers in private schools.
Nwajiuba said this during Presidential Task Force briefing on Covid-19.
He said, “the CBN window is available for them to exploit and really any assistance we can give to them we will like to give them, but it is important to clarify that we are not taking over the payment of their salaries”.
Reacting to Nwajiuba statement, Goong said getting the data of the private school teachers will be a major challenge should CBN decide to intervene.
“the CBN does not know the number of private schools in Nigeria- from kindergarten to higher institutions. Even NAPPS does not know the number of private schools in Nigeria. Most of the private schools in the country are not registered with the association. The CBN has not asked the ministry for any data. It is fake news”.
