How Private School Reacted To My Resignation Letters

TWO years after my National Youth Service, I started working in a private school in Ibadan; Ibadan is the capital of Oyo State. I was being paid a paltry sum; the salary was the same as my allowance as a corps member; I did not complain, but went about my duty diligently.

A few months after I joined the school, there was a general increase in the salary of all teachers in the school except me. I was told I had not spent up to a year in the school so I was not eligible for the increase.

Two years later, there was another general increment and I got a raise in my pay too. Not long after, I got an opportunity to work in a public school as a contract staff. I dropped my resignation letter, but it was rejected. The contract had not started so I stayed.

The author during her NYSC in Rivers State

Three months later, the contract started and I needed to go and assume my position in the new school. I wrote another resignation letter and gave it to one of the vice principals; he took it to the proprietress and the letter was rejected, again. He was asked to return it to me; the school was not ready to release me.

Then, the series of meetings started. The vice-principals called me one after the other; they wanted to know why I was leaving. They told me the management was ready to increase my pay.

The proprietress called me too; she did her best to convince me to stay. She offered to increase my salary by twenty-five percent (25%); she was ready to go an extra length to retain me. I was shocked! “So, she could afford to pay me ‘that much’ all this while, but she refused to?”

I had to ‘run’ away since they were bent on retaining me in the school. My mind was made up; I knew it was time for me to move and that was what I did.

Years after the experience, it still amazes me that I worked in that school for about three years and neither the proprietress nor the vice principals ever called me to compliment my effort, but when I announced my intention to leave, they were all running up and down to convince me to stay.

It still baffles me that I spent three years in the school without a tangible increase in my salary but as soon as I turned in my resignation letter, the proprietress promised to shoot up my salary.