Teacher motivation and incentives in Nigeria
Abstract
Evidence from the research literature on teacher motivation issues in Nigeria, relevant documents, and the views of key stakeholders suggest there is a teacher motivation crisis among primary school teachers in Nigeria. No school system can be higher in quality than the level of motivation and job commitment of teachers within the system. The Nigerian educational system appears to be staffed by teachers with poor morale and low levels of commitment to their work.
In terms of job context, job content and reward system for teachers, there is a kind of systematic motivation crises within the Nigerian Educational System. School buildings are largely dilapidated, schools are over crowded, and reward systems in terms of salaries and emoluments appear largely unsatisfactory. Improvements in recent years are not deep enough to record satisfactory improvement in teachers' morale.
Nevertheless, this study discovered a consistent trend to improve the job morale of Nigerian teachers especially in advent of democratic government in 1999. Development outside the school system, such as the increasing trend of globalisation, the tendency towards the information-driven economy, the increased tempo of private sector participation in education, and the improved federal funding of education have all contributed to an appreciable improvement in teacher's morale and commitment to work. If this trend continues before long, teachers' motivation in Nigeria will witness significant and satisfactory improvement.
Citation
DFID, London, UK, iv + 24 pp.
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