President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday decried inability of some Nigerian states to pay teachers for many months.

Speaking after receiving a briefing from the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, President Buhari urged the three tiers of government to be more mindful of their responsibility to pay teachers their salaries on time.

Noting that the non-payment of teachers had resulted in long-running strikes by teachers in some states, President Buhari declared that the worst harm State governments could cause their citizens was to deny them good education.

“It then means that their citizens will be denied a chance to compete with others at the centre. Socially, it is very, very bad, if not irresponsible,” the President said.

The Permanent Secretary, Dr. MacJohn Nwaobiala, briefed the President on the current activities of the Federal Ministry of Education and its many problems and challenges.

He also said that inadequate funding and insecurity in some parts of the country were hampering activities in schools.