The United Kingdom has revealed some of its reasons for wanting to recruit teachers from Nigeria and eight other countries.

It had been reported that the UK had listed Nigeria among the list of countries where teachers could apply to teach in the UK.

Some of the other countries are Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Singapore, South Africa, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

The applicants do not even necessarily require initial teaching qualifications as the country offers a training programme for potential migrants.

In the data for the remunerations, the UK noted, “All qualified teachers will have a starting salary of at least £28,000. This will be higher for teachers working in London. Your school will have their own pay scales for qualified teachers. Pay increases will always be linked to performance, not length of service, and will be reviewed every year.”

Commenting on the development, a professor of Education at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Alabi Thomas, said Nigerian teachers were trained and qualified for opportunities that come their way.

He said, “The only challenge is the poor way in which the government is handling that sector. You see governors who owe salaries of teachers for months. Some don’t get promoted despite putting up years of quality service. This should also be an eye-opener for the government.”

(Saturday PUNCH)