Academic activities have resumed in primary and secondary schools across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) following the suspension of the teachers’ strike, although attendance remained low in some schools visited by Abuja Metro on Wednesday.
The resumption followed a directive by the FCT Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), led by Comrade Stephen Knabayi, after consultations and reconciliation meetings with the FCT Administration over the issues that prompted the industrial action.
The NLC said the resolutions reached included provisions for the promotion of education officers, with vacancies to be determined by established positions declared by the Education Secretariat.
The union also said the FCT Civil Service Commission would be notified of the Executive Council’s approval of the 2025 promotion examination, after which a new date would be announced for eligible candidates.
Checks by Abuja Metro at schools in Abaji, Gwagwalada, Bwari and Kuje Area Councils showed that teachers had returned to classrooms, while pupils and students were gradually resuming lessons.
At Pilot Science Primary School in Abaji, teachers and pupils were seen in classrooms, with lessons underway despite the relatively low turnout.
A teacher, Shuaibu Musa, said staff resumed after receiving a directive from the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) late on Tuesday.
The head teacher, Alhaji Salihu Jibrin, said he contacted members of staff after receiving the resumption notice through the union’s platform.
Jibrin said more than 300 pupils had returned to school as of Wednesday and expressed optimism that attendance would improve before the end of the week.
He commended the FCT NUT leadership, led by Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Shafas, for its efforts to protect teachers’ welfare. He also praised FCT Minister Nyesom Wike for settling some outstanding arrears owed to teachers but urged the administration to sustain its commitment to their welfare.
At Government Junior Secondary School, Naharati, in Abaji Area Council, academic activities had also resumed, although only a few students and teachers were present.
A teacher, Gabriel Moses, said he received the resumption directive on the teachers’ platform late Tuesday night and prepared to return to school the following morning.
Moses urged the FCT Administration to honour its agreements with the unions to prevent another disruption of academic activities.
Similar situations were observed at Demonstration Primary School and Government Day Secondary School in Gwagwalada, as well as LEA Primary Schools in Gwako and Zuba, where lessons had resumed despite low attendance.
At LEA Primary School in Chibiri community, Kuje Area Council, a few pupils and teachers were also seen in their classrooms.
However, some teachers expressed concern that the dispute over promotion requirements remained unresolved, particularly the demand by the joint labour unions for a review of the vacancy precondition for teachers’ promotion.
One teacher criticised the FCT Administration for failing to address the issue directly, arguing that the minister should have tackled the unions’ concerns more decisively.
Speaking on the resumption, the chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Kubwa chapter, Comrade Ameh Baba, said teachers returned immediately because of the need to recover the academic time lost during the strike.
Baba said the loss of about two weeks from the academic calendar would create challenges for teachers and students, adding that the union would explore options for recovering the lost time, including a possible two-week extension of the school calendar.
He described the strike as unfortunate, arguing that the dispute could have been resolved earlier if the government had addressed the teachers’ demands promptly.
Baba also alleged that the government’s threat to issue queries to teachers escalated the dispute and prompted a response from the NLC.
He urged the FCT Administration to fulfil its outstanding commitments, claiming that about 70 per cent of the promises made to teachers remained unfulfilled, according to his assessment.
Despite the resumption, the low turnout recorded in several schools suggests that attendance may take time to return to normal as teachers and school authorities work to recover the lost academic period.
