AN ADDRESS BY THE NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS TUTORS UNION OF NIGERIA ( PRISCTUN) DR. BABATUNDE OLANREWAJU FOLARIN
Date: October 5, 2026
Theme: _"Standing with Teachers: 60 Years of Protecting the Profession, Advancing Its Status and Shaping Our Futures"_
PROTOCOLS,
My beloved Comrades, Private School Teachers of Nigeria, Members of the National Executive Council of PRISCTUN, Leaders of our Trade Centre – Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Education International, our Proprietors who value dignity of labour, Gentlemen of the Press,
PRISCTUN! – Together we excel!
Today, the world stands with teachers. In 2026, we are not just celebrating World Teachers' Day, we are marking 60 years of the 1966 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers – the first international legal charter that defined teachers' rights, responsibilities, training and working conditions.
This year, UNESCO, ILO, UNICEF and Education International– our global federation – have chosen this historic theme to remind nations that teaching is not charity, it is a profession that must be protected. aefc
WHAT DOES 60 YEARS MEAN FOR US IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS?
Education International Research identifies three dimensions of teachers' status that are under attack globally:
1. Symbolic Status – When society praises teachers to heaven but starves them on earth. NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero said it clearly last year: _"A teacher burdened by hunger, rent and transport worries cannot be a fountain of creativity"_. bdb1
2. Professional Status – When teachers have no autonomy, no voice in policy, and are denied unionization. In many private schools today, teachers are banned from joining union– a direct violation of ILO Conventions 87 and 98. 1874b338
3. Material Status –When salaries, workload and environment do not allow teachers to exercise their role. UNESCO says new pressures – digital technology, climate change, inclusion, migration – now compound this. aefc
My Comrades, all three attacks are happening in Nigeria's private school sector – where over 60% of our children learn but where teachers are most exploited.
THE BITTER TRUTH OF PRIVATE SCHOOL TEACHERS IN NIGERIA:
I have toured 20 states in the last year. What I saw is *Unfair Labour Practice on an industrial scale:*
- Below Minimum Wage: Teachers still receive N20,000 – N35,000 despite N70,000 National Minimum Wage Act for organisations in with 25+ workers. Some are asked to provide BVN for tax deduction from N35,000 illegal pay.
- Holiday Hunger: No salary during long vacation – July/August/September – Teachers survive by petty trading in class, selling biscuits and groundnuts.
- No Social Protection: No health insurance, no pension, no gratuity, no severance – "95% of private sector workers are without better monthly salary, no leave allowances, gratuity nor pensions".
- Casualization and Job Insecurity: No appointment letter, no promotion, no salary increment, dismissed by WhatsApp message – "no job guarantee, no promotion nor salary increment... at the mercy of school owners".
- Union Busting: Many powerful private school owners shield themselves from obeying the law.
This is why NLC last year demanded that NUT must collaborate with private school teachers union to ensure decent work. We, PRISCTUN, are that union – Affiliate of NLC. bdb1
OUR STAND – AS AFFILIATE OF NLC AND EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL:
Fellow Teachers, 60 years after 1966 Recommendation, we in PRISCTUN say *ENOUGH IS ENOUGH*. We proffer solutions:
1. Immediate Enforcement: Federal Ministry of Labour and State Ministries must enforce N70,000 minimum wage in all registered private schools. Any school that cannot pay does not have business employing teachers.
2. Recognition of PRISCTUN: Mandatory recognition and collective bargaining certificate for PRISCTUN in all private schools. No more victimization.
3. Private Schools Teachers Conditions of Service: We propose a National Minimum Standard – Written contract, pay slip, pension (Contributory Pension Scheme), NHIS, annual leave with pay, maternity leave, holiday pay.
4. End of Holiday Slavery: Salaries must be 12 calendar months, not 9 months.
5.Professionalization Fund: Proprietors Association (NAPPS, etc) and PRISCTUN to jointly establish Teachers Welfare & Training Fund – 2% of school fees dedicated to teacher training and welfare – as Education International advocates.
6. Digital Justice: As AI enters classroom, private school teachers must be trained and paid digital allowance – Not replaced.
TO OUR PROPRIETORS: Those who treat teachers well – we thank you. You are nation builders. Those who exploit – remember, no school is greater than its teachers.
TO NLC – OUR TRADE CENTRE: We thank Congress for standing with us. As you demanded living wage and union rights for private school tutors, we are ready to mobilize 500,000 private school teachers into NLC solidarity.
TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: Implement UNESCO benchmark – 6% of GDP and 20% of public expenditure to education. And extend TETFund and Teachers' Housing Scheme to licensed private school teachers. bdb1
Comrades, the theme says "Shaping our futures". The future of Nigeria cannot be shaped by hungry teachers.
On this World Teachers' Day, I salute every private school teacher in Ijebu, in Igala Land, in Yelwa, in Port Harcourt, in Sokoto, in Maiduguri – who despite N30,000 salary still enters class with smile.
Your labour will not be in vain.
Congratulations to all Teachers in all the continents of the World.
PRISCTUN ! Together we excel!
LongLive PRISCTUN!
Long Live NLC!
Long Live Education International!
Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Dr Tunde Folarin
National President, PRISCTUN
Affiliate of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) & Education International
October 5, 2026
