THE EFFECT OF UNPAID TEACHER SALARY ON ACADEMIC

PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

TOMORI Abdulfatai Adeyinka1

ABSTRACT

This study examined the possible influence of teachers salary on their

performances and attendance in school. The study population comprised of the
teachers in all the seventeen public secondary schools in Offa. 215 teachers were
selected through convenient sampling technique. Self-administered questionnaires
and simple observation were the methods employed for data collection. Relevant
data obtained were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. All
the hypotheses were tested at 5% level of significance. Among others, the study
revealed that; there was significant relationship between teachers irregular
payment of teachers salary on student academic performance. Also, there exist
statistical significant relationship between teachers adequate remuneration of
teachers and students academic performances. Having recognized education as an
instrument per excellence for nation building, this work recommends, among
others, that government should encourage teachers through regular and prompt
payment of salaries and allowances. A worker should have his wages as at when
due. It is only when this is done that sanity and stability will be restored to the
educational system.

Keywords: Unpaid Salary, Remuneration, Academic Performance, Teacher,

Secondary School Students.

1Registry Department, The Offa Metropolitan Polytechnic, Offa

1
 1. INTRODUCTION

In Nigeria, it may not be an overstatement to say that teachers has not been given
adequate priority as stipulated in the National Policy of Education (2004) revised.
Teachers are expected to earn both intrinsic and extrinsic reward from work
(Agharuwhe, 2013). It is believed that if teachers pay, working conditions and
fringe benefits given to teachers are judged to be good by the teachers, they will
put in more effort at work (Agharuwhe, 2013). The success or failure of any
educational system depends mainly on the teachers. This is where effective
motivation of teachers comes to play. It is a well-known fact that a well-motivated
teacher, who is provided with working incentives, good working conditions and
adequate remuneration is bound to be dedicated to his/ her teaching so as to bring
about the needed learning on the part of students (Ige, 2014).

Theoretically, lack of salary for teacher could have effect on teachers prompt and
regular attendance in school, his attitude towards lesson plan and students
academic performance. However, five authors, two of them outside Nigeria, that
provide experimental estimates of the causal impact of teachers salary on
students academic performances will be reviewed in this text. The authors are:
Adeyemo, Oladipupo and Omisore (2013); Oredein and Awodun (2013); Tesfaye
(2014); McKinney (2000), including Babagana and Babagana (2015) who did similar
study among the teachers and students of higher institution in Bornu state of
Nigeria.

Adeyemo, Oladipupo and Omisore (2013) examine the effect of teachers`

motivation on students` performance in mathematics in Makurdi local government
area, Benue state. The study revealed that the condition of service of teachers i.e.
teachers` fringe benefit payment, and teachers` promotion of in-service training
have a direct influence on the student`s academic performance in mathematics.
This was also conform to Hayden (2011) who concluded in his research that low
teacher morale and poor motivation has become a major problem at the South
Florida School District, particularly at ABC Middle School. His qualitative study was
designed to examine ABC Middle School mathematics teachers motivation and its
impact on student achievement on the mathematics standardized achievement
test.

Oredein and Awodun (2013) study the impact of teachers motivational indices on
science students academic performance in Nigerian senior secondary schools in
Ondo and Ekiti States of Nigeria respectively. The study revealed, among others,
that there is significant relationship between regular payment of science teachers

2
allowance and academic performance of science students in the study area. In
addition, Tesfaye (2014) investigated the level, relationship and major factors
affecting teachers job satisfaction and school performance in government schools
of Laga Tafo Laga Dadi Administrative Town, Ethiopia and discovered that teachers
job satisfaction and school performance has strong positive relationship.

On the contrary, McKinney (2000) investigated the relationships among the

awarding of career pay, teacher motivation, and student achievement. The study
concluded that teachers who receive higher pay are not more motivated than
teachers who do not receive higher pay and that student achievement is not
increased by the higher pay. And finally, Babagana and Babagana (2015) study the
effects of staff remuneration on the performance of Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri
students, the study revealed a strong and positive relationship between staff
remuneration and performance of Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri students. The
authors concluded that proper remuneration of teachers is associated with higher
performance and poor remuneration of teachers is the reason for poor performance
of the students.

This study was meant to enable the management know why it is important to
motivate the teachers to improve their performance. When salaries and incentives
of teachers are improved as the first gesture to improve their leaving standards,
teachers will work towards improving the performance hence will be appraised
positively. This will result in improvement of their living standards and working
conditions of teachers in the country since these teachers will not stagnate in the
same job group over the years. By conducting this research in Offa LGA, it will
enable policy makers to lay strategies to make teachers advance in their career and
minimize labor turnover.

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The study specifically tends to;

i. Identify whether there is any relationship between irregularity in the payment of

teachers and students academic performance

ii. Determine the extent to which adequate payment of teachers remunerations

affects students academic performance

3. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

1. There is no significant relationship between irregularity in payment of teachers

salaries and students academic performance.

2. There is no significant relationship between adequate remuneration of teachers

and students academic performance.

3
 4. METHODOLOGY

Teachers were drawn from all the 17 public secondary schools in Offa LGA. Teachers
were selected because they are directly concerned with the academic performance
of students and they know the extent at which they have been motivated by the
employer or the government. The schools used were selected through the use of
purposive sampling method while 215 teachers were selected through convenient
sampling technique. The instrument was rated based on Likert-type 4 point rating
scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD)
with the rating scores of 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively.

5. DATA ANALYSIS

The data was collected from the study area based on the response of the
respondents. The collected data were analyzed based on the purpose of the study.
Descriptive statistics was used to describe the basic features of the data in a study.
Together with simple graphics analysis, they form the basis of virtually every
quantitative analysis of data. Meanwhile, t-test was applied to find the statistical
significance of the hypotheses for possible acceptance or rejection; this was done
through the use of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20.

Fig. 1: Sex of the respondents

Male; 53%
Female; 47%

Table 1: Age of the respondents

Age (yrs) Frequen Percentage Source: Research Data (2017)

cy (%) Source: Research Data (2017)
Less than 61 28.37
30 Age is an essential factor in determining
30-39 68 31.63 labor force participation in work
40-49 46 21.40 organization. The data revealed that 68
50 and 40 18.61 (31.63%) of respondents were within the
above ages of 30-39, 61 (28.37%) fell below 30
Total 215 100 years, 46 (21.40%) of the respondents fell
between the ages of 40-49 and 40 (18.61%) were those who were above 50 years.

4
It was revealed that majority of the respondents were in their youthful age and
could work for longer years in the service. Also, from fig. 1 above, it was shown that
an overwhelming majority (53%) of respondents were male teachers while 47%
were female teachers.

Fig. 2: Respondents teaching experience

37.21%
26.98%
22.79%
13.02%

Table 2: Respondents Level of Education

Level of Freque Percentag Source: Research Data (2017)

Education ncy e (%) Source: Research Data
Grade II 03 1.40 (2017)
NCE/Diploma 93 43.26
B.Sc/HND 105 48.84 The educational background of the
Others 14 6.51 respondents was important since the
(specify) core responsibility of teachers was
Total 215 100 imparting knowledge and skills to pupils
in the country. The data in the above table 2 indicated that 105 (48.84%) had their
certificate in B.Sc/HND. 93 (43.26%) had Diploma/Nigeria Certificate of Education
(NCE). Only 14 (6.51%) of the respondents chose others and when they were asked
to specify, they mentioned Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) and Masters
degree. Only an insignificance of 3 (1.40%) of the respondents had Grade II
certificate. By and large, the studies revealed that majority (92.1%) of public school
teachers in Offa LGA were professionally trained. Data in fig. 2 above also reveals
that majority 86.98 % (37.21%, 22.79% and 26.98%) of the teachers have worked
for long time and have gained experience over years. Ellickson and Logsdon (2001)
cited in Akuoko et al. (2012) contend that years of experience at work is one of the
work place factors which affect teachers job performance.

5
 Fig. 3: Decision to become a teacher

58.61%

20.47%
7.44% 9.77% 3.72%

Source: Research Data (2017)

In response to a question as to why respondents decided to become teachers, fig. 3

above shows that 58.61% of the respondent-teachers said they were interested in
teaching. Also, 20.47% of them stated lack of employment opportunities in other
professions as the reason why they decided to join teaching profession. In relation
to pay, only 7.44% of respondents stated pay as the reason they chose teaching as
their profession. With working hours and school holidays, 9.77% of them said they
decided to join the profession because of the working hours and holidays enjoyed by
teachers. Interestingly, 3.72% of them gave other reasons and was asked to
specified, they mentioned lack of financial support to further their education at the
Table 3: Ranking of respondents
university viewthey
and some said on relationship
took teachingbetween irregularity
profession in payment
as a stepping of teachers salary a
stone.
Table 4: Ranking of respondents view on relationship between
Source: Research Data (2017)
Source: Research Data (2017)

Analysis of the table 3 above reveals that there is relationship between irregularity in
payment of teachers salary and students academic performance with an
overwhelming 89.77% (69.30% strongly agreed and 20.47% agreed) supporting the
statement, 4.19% are undecided and 6.05% disagreed. Table 4 above indicates
adequate remuneration of teachers will have positive effect on students academic
performance with 92.09% (36.74% strongly agreed and 55.35% agreed) attesting to
the statement positively, 4.19% are undecided while only 3.72% disagree with the
statement.

6. TESTING OF THE HYPOTHESIS

6
 Here an attempt is made to test the earlier proposed hypotheses with a view to
establishing there validity or otherwise. The first hypothesis states that There is no
significant relationship between irregularity in payment of teachers salaries and
students academic performance. To test the hypothesis, t-test was used with the
aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results are summarized
Table 5: Theand presented
effect below.
of irregularity in payment of teachers salaries on student academic performan
Table 6: The effect of adequate remuneration of teache
*Significant at 0.05 per cent *Significant at 0.05 per cent

The results in above table 5 show that the calculated t-test value is 1.563 which is
significant at 0.05 per cent (.193). This implies that the alternative hypothesis that
says Irregularity in payment of teachers salary will have significant effect on
student academic performance. should be accepted in place of the null hypothesis.
The second hypothesis which says; There is no significant relationship between
adequate remuneration of teachers and students academic performance. To test
the hypothesis, t-test was also used with the aid of Statistical Package for Social
Sciences (SPSS). The results are summarized and presented in table 6 above. By
analyzing the t test and the significance impact of adequate remuneration of
teachers on student academic performance. The value of t test is 1.809 for this
model is significant, indicating that adequate remuneration of teachers indeed
have impact on the student academic performance. Hence, alternative hypothesis
should be accepted.

7. DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

The two hypotheses that were formulated are statistically significant which gives us
a good significant base of making our decision. This means that, for academic
performance of the student to be high, teachers have to be motivated, satisfied and
effective. Oyedeji (1998) revealed that, teachers` needs and morale are very
important which influences individuals and group to perform in order to achieve the
school objectives. He further said that the productivity may increases when needs
of the teachers are met which in turn may enhance excellence performance of
students academically. It is clear that for teachers to be motivated, they fringe
benefits to increase their take home pay. Wolfenson (2000) argued that when output
and input are not adequate, it creates frustration and job dissatisfaction which is in
turn may affect academic performance of students.

8. SUMMARY

7
This study examined the possible influence of teachers salary on students
academic performances in school. It has been established that teachers reward for
labor is his salary and allowances which as basic motivational tools if well handled,
will reinvigorate hard work among them. The study further revealed that the
remunerations for teachers such as salary and allowances are irregularly
implemented. Nigerian teachers are de-motivated because their remuneration is
abysmally low. Pay has a motivational value consequently increment in pay often
leads to increase in performance. By and large, there is some positive relationship
between teachers prompt and adequate payment, his attendance and students
academic performance. The direct relationship between pay, and students
academic performance is based on teachers perceive adequate degree of fairness
between their pay and work efforts.

9. CONCLUSION

By and large, irregular payment of teachers salaries adversely affects teaching and
learning in the schools. This negligence of teachers welfare emanated from all
institutions and individuals concerned in education such as the government, the
external agencies like the communities and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and even the individual who are directly involved in the schools such as the
school head, and hence, they (teachers) always have problem with them.

10. RECOMMENDATIONS

Since nobody knows what to meet in heaven, most of the teachers will prefer to
have their reward here on earth. It is therefore imperative for professional teachers
to be recognized as professionals in their field of work and accorded the recognition
and prestige enjoyed by other mainstream professionals in the Nigerian society.
Teachers salaries and other material rewards should reflect the value to society of
the teaching function; and should compare favorably with salaries paid in other
professional occupations requiring similar or equivalent qualifications. Lastly, the
federal government should implement the proposal in the national policy on
education as contained in section nine (9).

REFERENCES

8
Adeyemo, Adeyinka R; Oladipupo, Asabi and Omisore, Adedotun O (2013). Teachers`
Motivation on Students` Performance in Mathematics in Government
Secondary Schools, Makurdi Local Area International Journal of Humanities and
Social Science Invention.

Agharuwhe, A. A. (2013). Effects of Teachers Effectiveness on Students Academic

Performance in Public Secondary Schools; Delta State Nigeria. Journal of
Educational and Social Research MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy. 3, 3.

Akuoko, Kofi Osei; Dwumah, Peter; Baba, Wahab Mahama (2012) Teacher motivation
and quality education delivery: A study of public basic schools in Tamale
metropolis in Ghana. International journal of Social Science & Interdisciplinary
Research. 1, 12. www.indianresearchjournals.com

Babagana, A. and Babagana, D. (2015) Staff Remuneration and the Performance of

Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri Students from 1995 to 2011. European Journal of
Research and Reflection in Management Sciences. Progressive Academic
Publishing, UK. 3, 5. www.idpublications.org

Ige Akindele, M (2014) Strategies for Motivation of Teachers for Effectiveness Amid
Universal Basic Education (UBE) Programme Implementation in Nigeria.
European Journal of Academic Essays 1(6). www.euroessays.org

McKinney, A. P (2000). A Study To Assess The Relationships Among Student

Achievement, Teacher Motivation, And Incentive Pay. Unpublished PhD
Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg,
Virginia

Ogundele, M. O (2015) Enhancing teachers morale for the achievement of the

universal basic education goals in Nigeria. Journal of educational innovators.

Oredein, Afolakemi and Awodun, Adebisi (2013) Impact of Teachers Motivational

Indices on Science Students Academic Performance in Nigerian Senior
Secondary Schools. International Education Studies. 6, 2.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v6n2p49

Tesfaye Jima Bedada (2014) Teachers job satisfaction and school performance in
government schools of Laga Tafo Laga Dadi Administrative town. M A
dissertation, Haramaya University

Wolfenson O. (2000) The Role of Parent in Student Academic Performance in Bondo

Districts. Unpublished M. Ed thesis, Egerton University, Njoro Kenya.