The President of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, Yomi Otubela, has announced the agreement signed by the Federal Government to pay the salaries of private school teachers that are being owed by their school management since the lockdown started in March.
While disclosing on TVC on Monday July 13, 2020, Otubela stated that a number of private school teachers had come out to cry for help as they have not been paid by their management since March when schools were shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
He added that many schools do not the ability to pay salaries since the pandemic has affected the inflow of school fees.
Otubela explained that the association forwarded a proposal to the Economic Sustainability Committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for the government to pay the salaries of the private school owners.
”We have written to the Federal government to understand that these teachers are teaching Nigerian children and that they need to keep them and their families together during the lockdown.
“So the Federal government has listened to our request. We requested that the teachers salaries in private schools should be taken over by the government during the months of the lockdown,” Otubela said.
“We also requested a single digit loan for private schools to cushion the effect of the COVID19. We requested support for schools that have existing loans, that they (FG) should liase on our behalf with the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN and CBN will liase with commercial banks and other financial institutions to ensure that they give them soft landing in terms of moratorium to repay and deduction in the interest loan,” he stated.
He confirmed that an approval has been granted to the proposal by the Federal Executive Council.
“The Federal government has approved that they will take over the payment of teachers salaries.
“We are already talking to them to know the modalities for the disbursement,” he added.
He, however, pointed out that it is only private schools registered under its association that will benefit from the Federal government’s bailout.
