The Coordinator of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) LEA Teachers’ Forum, Abdulsalam Haruna, has taken a hard swipe at the Federal Minister of Education, accusing him of gross indifference to the ongoing strike by primary school teachers in the FCT, Abuja, which has kept schools shut since March 24.
Grassroots Parrot reports that the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, on Monday, called for constructive dialogue and a prompt resolution to the ongoing strike by primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement issued for the first time since the industrial action began three months ago, the minister acknowledged the grievances presented by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, particularly their concerns over the delayed implementation of the new National Minimum Wage.
Responding to the minister’s reaction while speaking during a live interview on CHRICED Radio and Television on Tuesday in Abuja, Haruna lampooned the Minister’s late response to the crisis, saying it was shameful that the nation’s top education official only spoke out three months into the strike.
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“I welcome the minister back from sleeping for so long. Are we really a serious nation, where is the seriousness if a minister is just speaking for the first time three months after the strike began.” He lamented.
The teachers’ coordinator also laid bare a list of grievances that, according to him, reflect years of systemic neglect and injustice.
He noted that some primary school teachers under the Local Education Authority (LEA) in Abuja are still being paid as little as ₦30,000 monthly, with no promotion or career progression. Some teachers, he said, remain under-employed despite years of service.
Haruna revealed that the long-delayed 26-month arrears of the national minimum wage approved in 2019 were only paid eight months ago, and only after the direct intervention of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
“The minister paid 40% of the arrears because the area council chairmen refused. He later paid the remaining 60% too. That’s commendable,” he said. However, he condemned the silence of the council chairmen, accusing them of sending proxies to speak instead of addressing the issues directly.
Reacting to the partial payments issued in April, Haruna said, “The kangaroo implementation they did in April was just to avoid explaining how they spent money to the House of Assembly Committee on Education.”
Grassroots Parrot gathered that only Bwari Area Council has sustained payment of the minimum wage, while other FCT area councils have pulled out. However, the eight-month arrears remain unpaid across all councils, including Bwari.
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On welfare, the forum Coordinator pointed out that while other categories of workers under UBEC received wage awards and palliatives like rice during the fuel subsidy removal crisis, LEA teachers got nothing.
“How do you expect a teacher to teach well when they go to class on an empty stomach?” he asked. “We are still teaching ‘A for Apple’ in a tech-driven world.” He added.
He also challenged the federal government to treat the FCT with the seriousness of a state. “The FCT may not be a full state by constitutional definition, but it deserves full-state treatment,” he said, stressing that without a governor, the FCT Minister has a heavier role, including supervising area councils and reporting to the President.
Calling the ongoing strike a “ticking time bomb,” Haruna warned that continued silence from the Federal Ministry of Education, FCT Minister and the area council chairmen, as well as other stakeholders would only deepen the crisis.
He called for urgent government intervention to restore dignity and functionality to public education in the capital.