CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

Understanding what is going on with teacher pay is fascinating because in many nations, and Nigeria is not an exception, teachers' salaries are often seen to be low and insufficient in comparison to those of other professions (Heckman, 1995). There are three conceivable consequences if this were to occur, each of which would have an impact on the efficiency of the educational process. First and foremost, decreasing compensation would have a negative impact on the amount of effort and quality of work put forward by instructors. Second, low compensation would have a detrimental impact on the quality of education pupils get and, as a result, on the pool of potential instructors. Third, it would be difficult to retain qualified instructors in the profession because they would look for better opportunities elsewhere. These consequences would result in considerable inefficiencies in the educational process as well as detrimental consequences for students' learning.. One concern that emerges is why there is greater dispute regarding teachers' salary as compared to other types of employees; in particular, several studies challenge whether or not instructors are undercompensated. We believe that the reason for this is due to the fact that in education, the quality of instruction cannot be viewed immediately, and as a result, instructors' output cannot be quantified directly too (Komenan,1990). This fact has an impact on how compensation for teachers are decided and arranged. One approach to addressing this problem is to implement incentive systems that encourage instructors to provide the highest possible level of service. As a result, it is critical to examine not just the amount and structure of teacher wages, but also the incentives built into the compensation structure of instructors.

The expression "the return of labor is compensation or earnings" is used to describe the return of work. Among the primary factors of job satisfaction among teachers in Rivers state are the influence of working and living circumstances on teacher's morale, as well as the new pay system that has been adopted by the federal republic of Nigeria for its employees, of which teachers are one example. Over the last several years, there has been an increasing interest in the financial aspects of education. An important reason for this renewed interest is the significant increase in the amount of educational activities, which has grown to the point that education is now one of the greatest sectors in all nations, including Nigeria. According to Ogbodo (1995), education is a major employer of highly skilled personnel, with teachers being the most important of these employees. Education consumes a significant portion of a country's available resources, and the manner in which it does so has an impact on the overall well-being of the people. Money is one of the resources that education makes extensive use of, and it is a critical element in determining the success of any educational system's overall performance and effectiveness. It is necessary to have these resources in order to pay teachers' wages, which is the most important aspect in keeping instructors motivated.

To be able to give something significant to pupils, teachers' wages must be competitive. Their salaries dictate how serious and motivated they will be in carrying out their responsibilities, since "effective compensation will result in excellent teaching." The government has been the only source of finances for schools and the financing of education in the nation for the last many decades. In the words of Vaizey (1973), the government of most developing nations has faced an intractable challenge as a result of an uncontrolled rise in the school-age population, which has resulted in an extension of education and an accompanying increase in the expense of education. Teachers have been claiming their way up the conventional pay ladder for decades, collecting automatic wage increases based on their degree of education and number of years of service (Uche, 2022).

Across the country, the vast majority of school districts and teachers acknowledge that the standard pay schedule is an imperfect market system for what it is. Nonetheless, for many years, in town after community, teacher compensation discussions often turned into discussions about how to improve the system. However, it has only been in recent years that the salary discussion climate has become more conducive to discussions of alternative pay structures, structures that frequently involve compensating teachers not only for the length of time they have been teaching, but also for the quality of their teaching.

Every day, teachers and other members of the school staff assume tasks that, in previous years, would have been carried out by parents. Although teachers believe they are being expected to do more than simply educate, they believe they should be compensated appropriately. Increased salary and perks, according to teachers, would demonstrate a greater level of public respect for their professions. President of the American Federation of Teachers Sandra Freidman has said that starting teachers should be paid rates equivalent to those earned by first-year physicians and attorneys, reports the Associated Press. Every day, a typical government instructor is expected to teach between seven and eight periods to classrooms that typically have more than forty students in attendance. Teachers are also required to participate with other school-based activities, which may be time-consuming and labor-intensive. However, the compensation system, which includes pay packets and promotion opportunities, does not seem to be designed with work motivation as its primary purpose. Before the pay increase, the average teacher salary in Nigeria was 9,000 per month, with no additional benefits or allowances. If they are fortunate, they will be awarded a motorbike or bicycle loan, which would further cut their monthly pay to around 8,000. No primary or secondary school teacher has ever been funded to continue his or her study beyond their current position. In the case of a teacher earning #9,000 per month and having a family of two children, with each of his children spending around #5,000 per month, he will find it unproductive to fund the other activities in the family. These may lead to him being hired for a business position, which will negatively impact his teaching career since he will have less time to spend with his pupils. It was announced in 2010 that the federal republic of Nigeria will boost its basic salary plan (BSS), which includes teachers as one of its minimum workers, to a total of N17,500. Teachers will be better able to perform since they will be more motivated as a result of the rise in their pay.

1.2     Statement of the problem

Educationalists and laypeople alike feel that a significant amount of money must be put in education in order to prevent the collapse of the educational system. The educational system in Nigeria has seen tremendous expansion during the last several decades. With this spectacular expansion has come the generation of indigenous high-level workforce, which has resulted in rising salaries to match the quality of the people (Komenan,1990). Teachers cannot feel proud of their job despite the large amount of money the government claims to be spending on education. This is due to the insufficient wages that are being paid to them, which in turn leads to an increase in their pay. In this study project, we will investigate how the new compensation plan, which is now being improved, influences the performance of teachers in their respective school organizations.

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