Salary arrears: FCTA approves N7bln for primary school teachers

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) says it has approved N7 billion to cover 25 percent of the outstanding salary arrears owed teachers in public primary schools, Persecondnews reports.

The approval follows a protest by primary school teachers in the FCT on January 16, 2024.

The protesting teachers accused the FCT Area Councils of paying poor attention to their welfare, non-payment of salary arrears, promotion arrears, and new minimum wage arrears since 2019.

They also called for a review of the structure of primary education in the country, as they urged the Federal Government to take over the administration of primary schools from the local government councils.

In response to the development, Dr. Danlami Hayyo, the FCTA’s Secretary for Education, disclosed during a familiarization visit to the FCT Universal Basic Education Board’s management in Abuja that the FCTA will pay for 40% of the past-due arrears, with the area councils covering the remaining 60%.

He also stated that the administration has mandated the area councils and the FCT to make the payment within three months, adding that the funds will be deducted at the source and remitted to them.

He said: “The essence of this visit is to see how the secretariat can collaborate with the Board towards achieving its mandate.

“I am thankful to God that the Board has counterpart funding in addition to the BESDA account. I promise that the available resources from UBEC and UBEB will be used to address the challenges.”