Teachers Turn To After-School Home Lessons To Survive Poor Salaries

With salaries barely sufficient to cover food, rent and transportation, after-school home lessons have become a lifeline for many teachers struggling to survive Nigeria’s worsening economic climate.

What was once considered an optional side activity has now evolved into a major coping mechanism, exposing the meagre wages paid by many schools, particularly in the private sector.

Across the country, the rising cost of living has placed enormous pressure on workers, but teachers appear to be among the hardest hit.

Inflation, high transport fares, escalating house rents and soaring food prices have combined to erode the purchasing power of already low salaries.

For many teachers, especially those employed by private schools, monthly earnings no longer stretch beyond the most basic needs.

As Nigeria’s economic challenges deepen, after-school home lessons have quietly become part of everyday survival strategies for teachers, particularly in urban centres such as Abuja, Lagos and others.

In these cities, where the cost of living is significantly higher, private lessons now provides a crucial financial support for teachers whose school wages have failed to keep pace with economic realities.

While a few elite institutions pay relatively competitive salaries, the majority offer wages that many teachers describe as inadequate.

In Abuja, for instance, salaries in private schools reportedly range from as low as N30,000 to about N500,000, depending on the standard and ownership of the school.

However, schools that can afford to pay between N200,000 and N500,000 are few, leaving most teachers earning far below what is required to live comfortably in the city.

Faced with these constraints, many teachers have turned to after-school home lessons to supplement their income. Several teachers who spoke to LEADERSHIP said they now earn more from private tuition than from their formal teaching jobs. For them, home lessons have become a financial necessity.

Yet, this financial relief comes at a cost. Teachers report heavy workloads, long hours and physical exhaustion. Many finish their official school duties between 4.00 pm and 5.00 pm, only to move directly to home lessons that stretch late into the night.

Others spend their weekends travelling from one home to another, teaching children whose parents can afford private tuition.

Some teachers said the pressure has become so intense that they have chosen to resign from full-time teaching altogether in order to focus entirely on home lessons, which they believe offer better earnings and more control over their time.

An Abuja-based teacher, who identified himself simply as Moses, said he now works exclusively as a home-lesson tutor, charging between N50,000 and N100,000 per client, depending on the subject and number of hours involved. According to him, the decision to leave classroom teaching was driven purely by economic survival.

“My former employer was paying me N80,000 monthly, and the workload was overwhelming. I was teaching large classes, handling multiple subjects and still struggling to survive. Now, with home lessons, I can make over N200,000 a month, and I still have enough time to rest.”

Moses said that he conducts home lessons about three times a week, spending between three and four hours per session, adding that the flexibility allows him to manage his energy better while earning significantly more than he did as a full-time teacher.

“If I don’t get a better opportunity, I will stick with home lessons to survive,” he said. “For now, this is what puts food on my table.”

Another teacher, Mr Isaac, who declined to disclose the name of his school for fear of victimisation, said his current employer pays him N150,000 monthly.

However, he earns nearly double that amount from home lessons.

“Home lessons have become the new normal for private school teachers trying to survive. Some schools pay salaries that cannot take care of basic needs, so teachers are left with no choice.”

Mr Isaac said he began offering home lessons shortly after joining the teaching profession in 2014. According to him, family responsibilities and accommodation challenges in Abuja made it impossible to depend solely on his school salary.

“I have a family and accommodation issues to settle, and relying on a low monthly salary will not solve these problems. After deductions, I take home about N150,000, and that is not enough to settle my bills. The home lessons are what keep me afloat.”

He disclosed that he currently handles about three home-lesson engagements during weekdays and weekends, a schedule he admits is physically demanding.

“It is not easy to cope, even though I earn about twice what my school pays me. The stress is real, but there is no alternative.”

Beyond the physical exhaustion, Mr Isaac expressed concern about the broader implications of the growing dependence on home lessons. He warned that it could negatively affect teachers’ focus and performance in the schools where they are officially employed.

“The implications are enormous. It affects mental concentration in the classroom. Naturally, a person’s attention goes where their survival comes from. Since home lessons pay more, the mind is drawn there.”

He stressed that this situation is unhealthy for the education system and called on school owners to improve teachers’ welfare.

“If teachers are well paid and properly taken care of, they will not think of engaging in home lessons because of the stress involved. A teacher who is comfortable will concentrate fully and give students the best.”