Private school teachers in Kabayi area in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have groaned closure of schools over the advent of Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country.

Some of the teachers, who spoke when the team from the Media Advocacy West Africa (WAWA Foundation) visited the area on Tuesday, decried untold hardships due to non-payment of salaries for over five months.

The MAWA foundation, with support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), is implementing a project tagged "Human Right Abuse and Economic Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown in Communities".

The teachers, who said private schools solely rely on school fees of pupils’ and students’ to pay it's workers, called on the Federal Government to put modalities that would fast track the reopening of schools.


Mrs. Gloria Ngwobia, a staff of  Kings Crown International School, Kabayi, said she has not received salaries for last five months.

Ngwobia lamented that life has been very difficult for her and her family since schools have been shut down.

"The advent of Covid-19 has stagnated a lot of things; it has also inflicted huge hardships particularly on private school teachers.

"Schools are still closed, we have not been paid for over five months and this have thrown many of us into serious hardships.

"We are calling on the federal government to fast tract the process and ensure all schools are reopen to enable us make a living," she urged.

Another private school teacher, Miss Joyce Samuel, told MAWA team that she basically survives on begging  and the goodwill of friends.

Samuel, who decried that a lot of private school teachers were languishing in hunger and squalor,  called on government to intervene in order to ameliorate the worsening situation.

“Private school teachers are the most hit by this pandemic, and, considering the kind of work we do, the government needs to have serious consideration for this category of workers.

"Education is the foundation of every society and the quality of education a nation gets is dependent on how teachers are been take care of," she said.