The Registrar of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Dr Ronke Soyombo, has expressed concern about the poor remuneration of teachers in some private schools, noting that some educators still earn as little as N20,000 monthly.

Soyombo, who spoke at the yearly summit of the Conference of Private School Associations in Lagos, said improving teachers’ welfare was essential to raising education standards, reminding that educators remained the foundation of quality education systems.

The summit, themed: ‘Transformation of education in Lagos State,’ attracted proprietors, school administrators, policymakers and other education stakeholders.

“If we want good service, we have to pay teachers well. For us to get quality service from teachers and stop them from looking left, right and centre, they also want to send their children to good schools, so let’s pay teachers good money.”

Soyombo decried the welfare conditions of many teachers and recounted the experience of an award-winning educator from a private school who had to sell a vehicle he received as a reward due to low earnings.

The TRCN chief noted that poor remuneration remained a major factor affecting teacher motivation and retention in schools.

She also addressed the reluctance of some private school proprietors to invest in teacher training, noting that many feared trained staff would leave for better opportunities.

“We have to look at the conditions of service and make teachers the cornerstone of a quality educational system,” she stated.

Soyombo maintained that Nigeria could not transform its education sector without transforming the teaching profession and fostering stronger collaboration with private schools.

She lamented that many education reforms failed because teachers were often excluded from the centre of policy implementation.

She further called for stronger teacher regulation, continuous professional development, safeguarding measures and the responsible use of artificial intelligence in classrooms.

Soyombo disclosed that the council had enhanced its digital teacher portal to facilitate registration, licensing, certification and verification processes, adding that plans were underway to launch a mobile application for teachers nationwide.

She also revealed that TRCN was strengthening safeguarding mechanisms, including a toll-free line for reporting sexual abuse and professional misconduct, as well as plans to introduce criminal record checks for teachers.

Also speaking at the summit, renowned entrepreneur and former chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Ibukun Awosika, said effective leadership remains the most critical factor in achieving meaningful transformation in education.

In her presentation titled: ‘The role of leadership in the transformation of education,’ Awosika argued that no nation can attain sustainable development without an educated and enlightened population.

“There is no development in any nation without an educated population. The extent of the enlightenment of the population is critical to the ability of the state or nation to develop and deliver on its agenda,” she said.

Awosika said education must be deliberately aligned with a state’s economic and developmental aspirations to produce the human capital required for growth.

She stressed that leaders must identify skill gaps within their economies and design policies that encourage the development of the talent needed, adding that countries seeking industrialisation often tailor their educational systems to produce the skills required by emerging industries.

She cited the shortage of healthcare workers in Nigeria as an example of how educational systems should respond to national manpower needs and challenged educators to create learning environments that encourage curiosity, critical thinking and innovation.

Lagos State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, assured stakeholders that the state government remains committed to school safety and the advancement of quality education.

Alli-Balogun noted that private schools were members of the state’s Safe Schools Committee and called for stronger collaboration to enhance security across educational institutions.

He highlighted ongoing investments by the state government, including the construction of more than 400 classrooms in public schools, the expansion of digital learning platforms, the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, and continuous professional development for teachers.

Earlier in his welcome address, the President of the Conference of Private School Associations in Lagos, Dr Olufemi Ogunsanya, said education remained the strongest instrument for nation-building and economic growth.

He said the quality of education currently available to children would determine the quality of future leadership, workforce productivity, entrepreneurship and national development.

He warned that neglecting education could have severe consequences for society, including increased insecurity, unemployment and declining productivity, and urged stakeholders to embrace innovation, strengthen quality assurance, invest in teacher development and promote values-based education capable of preparing learners for the demands of the 21st century.