Nigerian universities have struggled with declining academic standards, frequent strikes, and the migration of lecturers abroad. At the centre of these challenges lies an often-ignored factor: the salary structure of university lecturers.

Across higher education systems worldwide, lecturers’ welfare often plays a decisive role in determining the quality of learning students receive.

Experts argue that the importance of productivity among lecturers in tertiary institutions is critical because it directly enhances the quality of teacher training, ensuring that future educators are well-prepared.

Besides, they say that work remuneration, including various compensation packages, rewards, fringe benefits, pay, and allowances, plays a significant role in lecturers’ productivity in aspects of instruction, research supervision, publication and community service in various tertiary institutions across the nation.

Experts express worries that unproductive lecturers can significantly undermine national economic, social, and environmental sustainability by regressing knowledge.

They maintain that persistent poor remuneration amid economic crunch is fueling a massive brain drain in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, deepening crisis in the nation’s university system, where inadequate research funding have combined to erode morale and productivity among lecturers.

Kayode Soremekun, a former vice-chancellor at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) expressed concern that Nigerian lecturers are grossly underpaid.

“The underpayment is such that the average lecturer is on the look-out perpetually for opportunities abroad.

“The government should tackle the problem frontally, and examine what obtains in countries such as South Africa and match same, or even go beyond it. Otherwise, we will be caught in this morass for a long time,” he said.

Nigeria is one of the countries that pays university lecturers and professors the lowest salaries on the continent, according to data on salaries of professors with less than 10 years in the professorial cadre in African public universities.

Nigerian professors earned an average of $366 (about N500,000) monthly, far behind their counterparts in other African countries.

A report, made available on the University of Ibadan’s website, indicates that assistant lecturers, arts fellows, and librarians II have a specific salary scale with minimum annual salary of N794,260.00, while the maximum annual salary is N957,402.

For lecturer II, and research fellow II, the minimum salary per annum is N897,501, while the maximum annual salary is N1,074,314. Lecturer I, and research fellow I, receive a minimum annual salary of N1.12 million, while the maximum annual salary is N1.44 million

According to the report, a senior lecturer is paid a minimum annual salary of N1. 65 million, while the maximum annual salary is N2,35 million.

Data on salaries of professors with less than 10 years on the professorial cadre in African public universities show that while a Nigerian professor earns about $4,400 annually, a South African professor takes home $57,471 yearly, more than 13 times higher.

Professors in Kenya, earn $48,000 per annum, while Gabon professors earn $29,907, Seychelles, $13,950, and Ghanaian professors receive $12,960 yearly.

Soremekun noted that a lecturer’s job is unique and must be appreciated, because the situation lends itself to comparative dynamics.

“It is an international dimension in which comparisons can be made with the salaries of Nigerian lecturers and their counterparts abroad.

“When such comparisons are made, the push and pull factors can be very enormous. To this extent, the very good lecturers will migrate to other climes, and the Nigerian social formation will certainly be the worst for it,” he said.

Stanley Alaubi, a senior lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, emphasised that improved salary can affect learning outcome positively; because a happy lecture due to a better salary will give out his best to produce a better graduate.

Alaubi urges the government to ensure that the structure of lecturers’ salary is at par with the economic reality of the country.

“The purchasing power should actually be that which can take lecturers home, and a take home pay should actually take one home,” he said.

To address the issue, he said the federal government should abide by the 2009 agreement with ASUU.

Jessica Osuere, the chief executive officer at RubiesHub Educational Services, stressed the fact that poor remuneration de-motivates lecturers, increases brain drain and pushes lecturers into multiple jobs, which would reduce the time they have for teaching, research, mentoring, and feedback.

“This ultimately weakens instructional quality and students learning outcomes,” she noted.

Osuere said the core issue with lecturers’ salary structure is largely structural.

“We still run outdated salary frameworks, such as CONUASS, there’s weak funding of education, we are still battling with poor policy implementation, and lack of political priority for higher education,” she said.

She highlighted the need for regular review of salaries to reflect present economic realities.

“There is the need to link pay to performance and research output, the government should also improve funding for universities, and provide incentives such as research grants, training, housing, academic resources,” she stressed.

Nubi Achebo, director academic planning at Nigerian University of Technology and Management (NUTM), disclosed that problem is rooted in public universities reliance on the government funding, which results in inadequate funding.

Besides, he decried the fact that education does not seem to be a priority in the government’s the budget allocation.

To mitigate this, Achebo advocates public-private partnerships, alumni support, and policy reforms.

“Collaborations, and engaging alumni in fundraising efforts can provide additional funding and resources,

“Besides, we need education policy changes and increased budget allocation,” he said.

Stakeholders believe that the quality of university education is closely tied to the welfare of those who deliver it.

Hence, without a competitive salary scheme for lecturers, Nigeria risks weakening the very foundation of its higher education system.

Business Day Credited

The post How Lecturers’ Salary Scheme Can Shape Quality Learning In Nigeria’s Universities appeared first on ESUT Monitor.

By Amaechi Agbo

Agbani – The staff of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, (ESUT) may not start receiving their new minimum wage any time soon as the University management has disclosed that it would need at least the sum of N25 million monthly to effectively implement the new minimum wage in the institution, www.esutmoitor.com can authoritatively report.

This is as the State Government, the owner of the university is silent over increase in the subvention it pays to the university.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Aloysius Michaels Okolie said on Wednesday during the University Senate Meeting, that the management needs the sum of N25 million monthly to begin the implementation of the new minimum wage in the school.

ESUT Monitor gathered that Professor Okolie who stated the management’s willingness to begin the implementation of the new minimum wage, however expressed dismay that without corresponding increment in the Enugu State Government’s subvention, the university is handicapped.

The VC while acknowledging the difficulties the staff face in view of the implementation of the new wage structure, considering that the state government began the implementation in November 2024, called on the workers to patient with the management as they sort out solution.

Sources told this paper that the VC noted that no tertiary institution in Enugu State has started paying its staff the new minimum wage and called on the staff for more Understanding.

One of our sources recalled what the VC said during the meeting thus: “The committee on implementation of the new minimum wage submitted their report some weeks ago and to effectively begin this new payment, we will need additional N25 million every month. This will catapult our monthly wage bill to N467 million out of which the State Government pays N204 subvention. Which means we will be sorting out N263 million monthly for wages if we must pay the new minimum wage.

“The Government has not said anything on increasing the subvention, however, we are not relenting. I want to assure our staff that the management is working round the clock to sort things out and find a solution,” the source said.

The VC noted that while faculties and departments are increasing, the government subvention to the university is not increasing which adds much strains to the already stretched resources in the university  

The Vice Chancellor further disclosed that the university will, starting from June 1^st, 2025, commence payment of the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS) to all lecturers.

CONUASS is a salary structure used in Nigeria for academic staff, including lecturers and professors, in both federal and state universities

He appreciated the academic staff for their patience with respect to the payment of the CONUASS

CONUASS stands for Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure. It’s a salary structure used in Nigeria for academic staff, including lecturers and professors, in both federal and state universities

The Vice Chancellor further promised to start paying promotion arrears from 2020/2021. And expressed his determination to exhaust all the debt he inherited before he leaves the university including the Cooperative Micro-Finance

It could be recalled that various workers unions on Campus had threatened to embank on industrial action in January over the none implementation of the new minimum wage and other entitlements

The post EXCLUSIVE: ESUT Needs N25 Million to Implement New Minimum Wage Monthly, Govt. mum on Subvention Increment appeared first on ESUT Monitor.