Inadequate teachers top challenges as FCT pupils commence 2nd term lessons

As pupils in both primary and secondary schools in the FCT resume academic activities for the second term of the 2025/26 session, stakeholders are calling on the FCT Administration (FCTA) to approve the recruitment of more teachers, especially for schools in rural communities. Abuja Metro reports that there have been repeated calls on the FCT […]

As pupils in both primary and secondary schools in the FCT resume academic activities for the second term of the 2025/26 session, stakeholders are calling on the FCT Administration (FCTA) to approve the recruitment of more teachers, especially for schools in rural communities.

Abuja Metro reports that there have been repeated calls on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to approve the recruitment of teachers for primary and junior secondary schools in the territory, many of which lack teachers for even basic subjects.

When our reporter visited some of the schools yesterday, a low turnout of pupils was observed at the Local Education Authority (LEA) schools in rural communities.

At the LEA Primary School, Abaji East, only a few pupils were seen in their classes. Some teachers attributed the low turnout to the long holiday but expressed optimism that the school would witness full resumption before the end of the week.

It was also observed that some teachers who travelled for the festive season were yet to return.

A teacher, Mr. Reuben Ishaya, said the lack of enough teachers for core subjects remained a serious challenge, noting that some teachers were forced to handle four subjects instead of two.

He appealed to the education board to recruit more teachers to ensure the smooth running of school activities.

Similarly, at the LEA Nomadic Primary School in Kwali Area Council, our reporter observed a low turnout of pupils and a few teachers.

A teacher at the school, who identified himself simply as Yakubu, said, “Before the end of this week or next, pupils will resume fully, but the major challenge is that there are not enough teachers.” Yakubu revealed that he had been a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) teacher at the school for eight years and was yet to be employed as a full-time staff member.

He said, “Efforts to see that I am converted to permanent staff have not yielded a positive response, but I hope the education board will consider people like us this year.’’

At the LEA Primary School in Unguwar Dodo in Gwagwalada Area Council, teachers told our reporter that additional staff were needed for core subjects to complement the existing workforce.

Mrs. Margaret Danjuma, another PTA teacher, said she had been teaching at the school for six years without being absorbed into the civil service even after writing several times to the LEA office in the area council demanding a permanent position.

She said, “Whenever I visit the LEA office, they only assure me that I should be patient and that my request would be looked into, but up till now, nothing has been done.”

Beyond the shortage of staff, some parents noted that dilapidated infrastructure was also a major concern.

Mr. Bashir Alhassan, a parent, said, “Aside from the shortage of teachers, pupils are still sitting on the bare floor to attend lessons because of lack of chairs and desks. Some teachers don’t even have chairs to sit on.”

Reacting to the situation, the Chairman of the FCT PTA, Alhaji Usman Abubakar, said the association had made several appeals to the FCTA, but that the efforts were yet to yield a response.

He said, “We hope the administration acts this year for these rural schools, where you sometimes find only two or three teachers attending to over 200 pupils.”

A senior official at the FCT Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB), who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told our reporter that the recruitment of teachers had been captured in the current budget.

He said, “We are only waiting for the minister’s approval to begin the recruitment of additional teachers for LEA primary and junior secondary schools.”