FCT Teachers’ Strike Disrupts Learning For A Week Amid ‘No Work, No Pay’ Threat
By JOANNA ILUSANMI
PUBLIC schools across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, remained largely deserted as an indefinite strike by FCT workers entered its seventh day. Consequently, students have missed lessons while uncertainty grows over when classes will resume.
The FCT Council of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) began the strike on 7 October after the administration failed to resolve teachers’ outstanding demands. The union had earlier issued an ultimatum seeking action on issues affecting teachers’ promotion, career progression and welfare.
At Government Secondary School, Jabi, students who arrived on Tuesday had little academic work to do. Some played football outside their classrooms, while regular lessons remained suspended.
A Senior Secondary School One teacher, Grace Fagbemi, said teachers had spent four working days without teaching. She added that staff were awaiting the outcome of discussions expected to resolve the dispute.
Similarly, a teacher at Junior Secondary School, Jabi 2, said delayed promotion examinations and a requirement for vacant positions had fuelled the disagreement. She explained that many teachers felt exhausted by the prolonged uncertainty and urged the government to address their concerns.
The disruption has also affected pupils at the FCT School for Blind Children. Although classes had stopped, the headmistress said the boarding school could not abandon its pupils because of their specific needs. She added that their welfare remained her immediate priority.
The NLC is demanding the removal of the vacancy requirement for teachers’ promotions, another opportunity for eligible teachers to sit their 2025 promotion examinations, and the withdrawal of certain redeployment and demotion letters issued to education directors. It has also called for the reinstatement of the dissolved management teams of the FCT Universal Basic Education Board and the FCT Secondary Education Board.
Meanwhile, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has threatened to enforce a “no work, no pay” policy against workers participating in the strike. He has also directed area council chairpersons and school officials to monitor attendance.
However, NLC FCT Chairperson Stephen Adalo maintains that the action followed due process. He argues that the policy applies to illegal strikes and insists that the union has met the legal requirements for industrial action.
With classrooms still empty, students and teachers remain caught in the dispute. Until both sides reach an agreement, the return to normal academic activities remains uncertain.
