Nigerian university lecturers, under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), are pressing for significant salary increases, highlighting that professors earn between N525,010 and N633,333 monthly under the Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS).
Graduate Assistants receive N125,000 to N138,020, Assistant Lecturers earn N150,000 to N171,487, Lecturer II positions range from N186,543 to N209,693, Lecturer I from N239,292 to N281,956, Senior Lecturers from N386,101 to N480,780, and Readers from N436,392 to N522,212.
Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, raised alarm over declining morale among lecturers due to low pay.
“Lecturers are tired, morale is low, and salaries are poor,” he said. “Academic staff are on edge, itching to leave. Teaching standards are dropping. As Vice Chancellor, I earned N900,000; now as a professor, I earn N700,000. My son called my payslip a joke. Some lecturers sleep in their offices.”
ASUU President Piwuna criticized the government for prioritizing politicians’ salary increases while neglecting academia.
“The political class looks after itself, while lecturers, who drive national progress, are ignored,” he said.
“Our salaries have been stagnant since the last collective bargaining in 2009. The recent minimum wage adjustment added just N40,000 to public servants’ salaries. Many professors, even with years of service, earn just over N400,000, far below N500,000. This affects our ability to attract quality lecturers and impacts output due to low morale.”
The union warns that without urgent salary reforms, the quality of education in Nigerian universities will continue to decline.
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