FCT Schools Shut As Teachers Begin Indefinite Strike

FCT Schools Shut As Teachers Begin Indefinite Strike

Public primary and secondary schools across the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were disrupted on Wednesday as teachers began an indefinite strike.

The action followed the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum issued by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), FCT Council, over promotion, career progression and welfare concerns.

The NLC directed its members to withdraw their services from October 7 after reviewing the FCT Administration’s response to its demands and declaring it unsatisfactory.

Consequently, pupils and students who reported for classes were sent home in some schools, while others met locked gates or classrooms without teachers.

Among the union’s major demands is the removal of the vacancy requirement as a condition for promoting FCT teachers.

The NLC also wants teachers eligible for the 2025 promotion examination to take it before or alongside candidates for the 2026 exercise.

It further demanded the withdrawal of redeployment and demotion letters issued to directors affected by the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers Act, 2022.

The union also called for the dissolution of the management teams of the FCT Secondary Education Board and Universal Basic Education Board, alongside the reinstatement of affected officials.

NLC FCT chairman, Stephen Knabayi, said the administration’s response failed to address the union’s concerns, particularly the vacancy requirement.

He said the policy had contributed to career stagnation and frustration among teachers despite their contribution to education.

Checks across Abuja showed that the strike disrupted activities in schools in Abaji, Kwali, Gwagwalada, Kuje and other parts of the territory.

At Government Junior Secondary School, Nahari, some students were seen in classrooms without teachers, while others remained around the premises.

At a nearby LEA Primary School, only a few pupils were seen playing in the compound as teachers stayed away.

In Kwali, Bonugo LEA Primary School had its gate open, but no lessons were taking place.

Government Secondary School, Gwagwalada, was locked, while a security guard said some pupils who arrived were turned back.

Similar disruptions were recorded in Kuje, where Government Secondary School remained locked and activities at LEA Primary School, Unguwar Kayarda, were affected.

At Idu-Koro, pupils and students who arrived at school were informed that there would be no classes.

A Primary Four pupil, Benedita, said, “I want to go to school and learn.”

Another pupil, Zahra Yusuf Mwame, said, “I miss learning.”

A Senior Secondary Two student, Etho Gift Eme, said she was sad because students had paid school fees but could no longer attend classes.

A teacher and examination officer at JSS Idu-Koro, Jonah Taimako, said some students were reluctant to leave after learning about the strike.

He said some even asked whether a teacher could come in to teach them before they went home.

The principal of JSS Idu-Koro, Adagadzu Dauda Benjamin, who said he was personally affected by the redeployment directive, criticised the policy.

“This is wrong, and cannot happen in the Civil Service; for a director to be demoted to ordinary classroom teacher,” he said.

An English Language teacher and staff secretary, Danjuma Ensely, also faulted the vacancy requirement for promotion.

“How can you say that there is no vacancy in the classroom? We have vacancies everywhere,” he said.

Ensely alleged that some teachers who passed promotion examinations were denied advancement, while promotion arrears from 2021 to 2024 remained unpaid.

The NUT chairman, Kubwa chapter, Ameh Baba, also criticised the treatment of teachers who attained director-level positions.

He argued that the vacancy clause should not prevent qualified teachers from receiving promotions after passing the required examinations.

Parents have also expressed concern over the disruption, coming shortly after pupils resumed for the new academic term.

The FCT chairman of the Parent-Teacher Association, Usman Abubakar, urged FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to bring the government and labour unions together for negotiations.

At Idu-Koro, PTA chairman Tanko Wambai alleged that some agreements reached after previous strikes were not fully implemented, leading to renewed disputes.

However, the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), FCT chapter, dissociated itself from the strike and directed secondary school teachers and education officers to report for work.

ASUSS described the action as premature and harmful to educational stability, saying students should not suffer because of an industrial dispute.

The union said the vacancy requirement was part of the Public Service Rules governing establishment control and financial planning.

It also said the 2025 promotion exercise had been resolved and would run alongside the 2026 promotion cycle under the FCT Civil Service Commission.

ASUSS maintained that the redeployment of directors in education agencies to classrooms was within management’s statutory powers.

The union warned that the strike could disrupt the 2025/2026 promotion examinations and urged eligible officers to follow the published timetable.

It also directed parents to send their children to school and asked secondary school principals and education officers to keep schools open.