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Teachers under the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Wing, on Monday disrupted the 2025 promotion examination for teachers, protesting the inclusion of vacancy as a requirement for career advancement.
The protest, led by the union's chairman, Mr. Abdullahi Shafas, took place at the headquarters of the National Open University in Abuja, where about 13,000 workers of the FCT Administration were participating in the ongoing promotion examinations.
The demonstration forced the suspension of the promotion test scheduled for teachers as union members demanded the immediate removal of the vacancy-based promotion policy.
Addressing the protesters, Shafas appealed to the Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, to replace the vacancy requirement with a merit-based system, arguing that teachers should be promoted after passing the prescribed promotion examinations.
He maintained that teachers are not pool staff and should not have their career progression tied to the availability of vacant positions.
According to him, the policy would only stagnate teachers' careers and further weaken morale within the education sector.
Shafas described the vacancy-based promotion system as unfair and detrimental to the teaching profession, insisting that promotion should be based strictly on merit and performance.
He also argued that teachers deserve special consideration because many work under difficult conditions, including in rural communities plagued by insecurity such as banditry and kidnapping.
The union leader stressed that career progression remains one of the few motivations available to teachers, warning that denying deserving officers promotion would discourage productivity and worsen challenges in the education sector.
He lamented that teachers remain among the least-paid public servants, noting that some still earn between ₦50,000 and ₦60,000 monthly despite living and working in the nation's capital.
Shafas urged the commission to engage the union in dialogue rather than dismissing its concerns, saying meaningful discussions remain the best way to resolve the dispute.
He added that the protest had forced teachers out of their classrooms, with schoolchildren bearing the consequences of the unresolved promotion issue.
Dismissing claims that the protest was politically motivated, Shafas insisted the action was solely aimed at protecting the welfare and career progression of teachers.
Also speaking, the union's secretary, Mrs. Margaret Jethro, argued that teachers should not be subjected to the same promotion framework as core civil servants.
She called for the establishment of a Teachers Service Commission in the FCT, saying the peculiar nature of the teaching profession requires a different promotion structure.
Jethro revealed that although 401 deputy directors passed the 2023 promotion examination, only 20 were eventually promoted because of the vacancy requirement.
She insisted that all teachers who passed the 2023 and 2024 promotion examinations should be promoted before the union would allow the 2025 promotion examination for teachers to proceed.
Responding to the protest, Chairman of the FCT Civil Service Commission, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, defended the policy, saying promotions for all FCT workers, including teachers, are governed by established public service guidelines.
Ezeh maintained that the commission was only implementing existing rules, stressing that promotions cannot be granted without available vacancies because of the financial and establishment implications involved.
