Akpabio advocates enhanced pay for teachers

The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has advocated for enhanced remuneration and improved work environment for teachers if the nation wishes to achieve a functional education system.
Senator Akpabio also called for a return to the good old days when school teachers were adored, well-catered for, and highly regarded and respected in society.
He spoke in Abuja on Wednesday, which is the second day of the two-day maiden edition of the Nigeria Education Forum (NEF, 2025), organised by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), the Committee of States’ Commissioners of Education in Nigeria (COSCEN), and partners.
Represented by the Senate’s Chief Whip, Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Akpabio said: “Provide the conducive environment for them (teachers) to operate and inculcate knowledge into our children. That is the only way we can guarantee the future of our children and the future of our education.
“So, for education to succeed and for Nigeria to succeed, the interests of teachers must be addressed. Adequate remuneration is a sine qua non for the success of our education venture,” he said.
Senator Akpabio disclosed that the Senate was working to step up funding, improve accountability, and expand access to digital learning with a view to aligning the educational system with the needs of the country’s modern economy.
He added, “We know that the government alone cannot do it. Education is a national project. A national project succeeds when everyone – Federal, states, and local governments, including the private and public sectors – works towards the same goal.”
Senator Akpabio noted that the realisation informed the call for Local Government’s autonomy to enable the third tier of government to contribute its own quota, including supporting the education sector.
He said the responsibility of the nation’s leaders, teachers, and policy makers is to ensure that the dreams of today’s children do not die prematurely because of the absence of a functional educational system that guarantees the realisation of their future aspirations.
The Senate President added: “So, let us build a new partnership where research speaks to national challenges, where innovations grow out of our universities into our industries, where every child seeks a pathway to success, a pathway that is wide enough, strong enough, and welcoming enough to carry them.
“Let us choose to invest, not only in infrastructure, in imagination, not only in textbooks, but in talents; not only in structures, but in the spirit of our young people.
“If we choose to rise above politics, above doubts, above all hurdles that no longer serve us, then we will open the door to a future where Nigeria will become a beacon of learning and a powerhouse of ideas,” he said.
The Senate President said efforts should be directed at creating an egalitarian society where every member has an equal stake and has access to all available opportunities.
“We should provide a level playing field for all our children to realise their potential,” he said.