Delays Teachers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Wing, on Monday staged a peaceful but resolute protest at the Open University, Dutse-Alhaji, along the Kubwa Expressway in Abuja. ​
The educators took to the streets to voice their deep frustrations over prolonged delays in their promotions, lack of career progression, and the non-implementation of crucial welfare agreements.
​Chanting solidarity songs and wielding placards with various inscriptions, the striking teachers disrupted the usual quiet of the area to draw the attention of the FCT Administration (FCTA) and the federal government to their plight.
​According to union representatives, many teachers have been stagnated on the same grade levels for years without the necessary promotions or corresponding salary adjustments, despite meeting all requirements and undergoing required evaluations. ​
The Key Grievances Highlighted by the Union include stagnated Career Progression: Years of delayed promotion exercises leaving qualified educators stuck on old grade levels.
​There is also the Unpaid Allowances and growing sense of neglect among the teaching workforce, which union leaders warn is directly impacting the quality of public education in the nation’s capital.
​”We cannot keep feeding the nation’s future while our own careers are left to starve,” said one protesting teacher who requested anonymity. “A motivated teacher is fundamental to a functional education system, but the FCT administration is pushing us to the wall.”
​The NUT FCT Wing has vowed to sustain their agitation until the government takes concrete steps to address the backlog of promotions and draft a clear, reliable roadmap for teachers’ career progression. ​
Commuters along the busy Kubwa Expressway faced temporary traffic delays as security agencies monitored the situation to prevent the demonstration from being hijacked by hoodlums.
As of the time of filing this report, officials from the FCT Education Secretariat had yet to issue a formal response to the protest.
