Working Lives: The Primary School Teacher Who Has Not Been Promoted in 12 Years
I mentioned that I got retained after my service year in 2010. I was paid N45,000 as a junior staff member. I have not been promoted ever since. I am still a junior staff member and my salary still remains the same. I know I am due for promotion. Some of my colleagues who we started together got their promotion in less than five years. I sat for the promotion examination a couple of times but I was never selected.
What is your name?
My name is Funmilayo Salako.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Ogun state. I am from Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State. I had my primary education in Ogun state. Thereafter, I moved to Lagos to further my education.
Tell me about your family
I lived with my mum in Ogun state as a child. I grew up to realize that my parents were separated. Even though my parents did not live together, my dad came to Ogun state often to check on us. He was living in Lagos state. My mum got diagnosed with uterine fibroid shortly after I graduated from primary school. She was scheduled for a surgery but she died while in surgery. After my mum’s demise, my siblings and I relocated to Lagos to live with my dad. He had married another woman after he left my mum. He has two children with his wife. His wife loved us like her own. My mum was a civil servant. She taught at a public secondary school in Ogun state. My dad is a steel engineer. He produces structural steel. I am the first child of the three children my mum had. My siblings are in tertiary institutions. I am married with three children. My husband is a 9 to 5 person. He works in the private sector.
Tell me about your education
I attended Saint Paul Anglican School, Igbore in Abeokuta, Ogun state. After my primary education, I relocated to Lagos state for my secondary education. I attended United High School in Ikorodu. I went further to Tai Solarin College of Education where I studied Christian Religious Studies and Social Studies. I got a NCE in CRS and Social Studies upon graduation. I had always wanted to have a university certificate, so being a NCE holder in education, I applied to Tai Solarin University of Education. I got admitted to study Social Studies. Now, I have a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies.
Why did you decide to train as a teacher?
I never had the intention to become a teacher. After my secondary education, I wrote JAMB a couple of times but I never performed well to get admitted into a university. I stayed at home for about four years writing JAMB over and over again while hoping to get 200 or above. Unfortunately, that never happened. I was at home one day and I got a text message on my phone that I had been offered admission into Tai Solarin College of Education. I knew I chose the institution when I registered for my last JAMB but I had no intention of studying at a college of education. I had to choose it because it was required to register for JAMB. My step-mother encouraged me to accept the admission and if I did not like the school, I could write another JAMB. Quite a number of people told me the community where the school is located is highly saturated with wicked people. I accepted the admission offer regardless and commenced my studies. About a year into my studies, I had fallen in love with the school. The thought of writing another JAMB did not occur to me anymore. I went for teaching practice in my third year, I was posted to a primary school in Ogun state. I taught Social Studies. It was at that point I started getting passionate about teaching. My supervisor was amazed about my teaching abilities. She asked me if I had teaching experience before. I told her my mum was a teacher. Perhaps, I got my teaching skills from her.
How did you get your first teaching job?
I started teaching in 2008. I was still in school but I was teaching in a primary school. The school’s headmistress accepted me because she thought I was hardworking. I took up teaching while studying because I wanted to gain experience in teaching before I graduated and also boost my confidence in teaching. I was paid N7,000 monthly. Being a teacher with no certificate yet, I thought that the salary was fair so I never complained about the pay. I worked at the school until I graduated from the university. During my service year, I was posted to a primary school in Ikorodu to serve. Luckily for me, I got retained after my service year. The headmaster told me he saw how passionate I was about teaching and that was why he made the decision to retain me. Also, the pupils I taught were already used to my teaching style and he did not want to change that.
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What was your salary and what do you earn now?
I mentioned that I got retained after my service year in 2010. I was paid N45,000 as a junior staff member. I have not been promoted ever since. I am still a junior staff member and my salary still remains the same. I know I am due for promotion. Some of my colleagues who we started together got their promotion in less than five years. I sat for the promotion examination a couple of times but I was never selected.
Is your salary sufficient for your needs?
No. My family has been surviving with support from my husband and my side hustle. Teaching is not an easy job, especially teaching in a primary school. You will talk and stand basically all through the day. Children are not easy to manage, you need to be extremely patient with them. If the government understands the value of teachers, then teachers will be paid far better than what we are being paid now. In fact, some of us do not get motivated to teach at times. We might not even go to class to teach and even when we do, we teach for a few minutes and leave. We work really hard but we are paid little. We need encouragement in the form of salary increments and other incentives from the government.
What other things do you do that fetches an income? How much do you get from the activity?
I am a baker. I make cakes and pastries. I also sell yam flour and garri. I deliver to my customers in Lagos and Ogun states. I have been in these businesses for over six years. My colleagues are my number one customers. I make about N10,000 daily, especially from sales of pastries. People buy pastries daily. Quite a number of teachers engage in one business or the other to beef up our salaries. Anyone who completely relies on salary will suffer.
What are the main things you spend on?
I spend on feeding, clothing, my children’s tuition fees, etc. I support my husband on some projects too. Most times, I receive my salary before my husband does but I will ensure my family feeds well regardless. Basically, food is the major thing I spend on.
Do you have savings?
Yes. I have two bank accounts where I remit money monthly to keep. Also, we run a cooperative society in my school. I started my business through the cooperative society.
Is the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) in your school active?
There is nothing like PTA in my school, not since I joined the school. From what I heard, each time the school called for meetings, only one or two parents would show up. So, the school management decided to cancel the PTA. It seems parents do not care about their children’s performances in school.
What part of your job makes you happy?
I derive joy in teaching and also seeing the impact of my teaching on my pupils. I do not like to labour in vain. I feel happy and fulfilled when my pupils pass their examinations excellently.
Why do you think even average Nigerians e.g., taxi drivers, do not send their children to public schools?
It might be because of what they have heard or seen; primary school teachers not teaching well, poor facilities in public schools, etc. A lot of parents would rather take their children to private schools. I am one of those parents. None of my children attended a public primary school. We all want the best for our children. Truthfully, the teaching style in private schools cannot be compared to a public school. Private school teachers are paid well and as and when due. They get every motivation they need to teach i.e., their salaries, good teaching facilities, conducive environment, etc. However, public primary school teachers are trying their best in the aspect of teaching. We just need motivation from the government.
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Can you describe some of the students whose success really made you happy?
My pupils made me proud during the last examinations. They performed really well not only in my subject but in other subjects. They have been promoted to the next class. I am excited to see them progress in their academics. I will really miss them. During the last end of the year party, they won a debate against their counterparts in other classes. Seeing my pupils excel encourages me to teach more. The only fulfillment a teacher can get is to see her students excel, that shows such a teacher is not teaching in vain. I get excited each time I think about these moments.
How can the government make teaching more rewarding?
The first thing the government has gotten wrong is the choice of Commissioner for Education. The present Commissioner for Education is a medical doctor who has no experience in teaching. How will such a person manage the affairs of teachers, understand their plights or needs? Certainly not. I will advise the government to make an educationist the Commissioner. Such people will fight for the rights of teachers. Secondly, the government needs to do more in terms of teachers’ welfare, increment in salaries and payment as and when due. I believe teachers should be the government’s top priority. Without the teachers, there is no government.
