The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, has written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, appealing for urgent presidential intervention over the prolonged promotion stagnation of teachers and education officers in the Federal Ministry of Education, particularly those in the Directorate Cadre.
The letter, signed by the Chairman, NUT Federal Wing, Okonta Alex said since federal teachers are employed en masse based on need, their promotion should not be restricted to the limited vacancies available in the ministry, hence Presidential waiver remains the only way out.
The open letter to President Tinubu stated that many officers have remained on the same grade level for 10 to 15 years or more, despite possessing the requisite qualifications and experience and, in several cases, having successfully passed prescribed promotion examinations.
The union said the major obstacle is not lack of competence or commitment, but the absence of sufficient establishment vacancies to facilitate their advancement.
The education officers expressed concern over the 2026 promotion exercise, noting that although the Federal Civil Service Commission announced a Directorate-Level Promotion Exercise for eligible officers on Grade Levels 14, 15 and 16, the opportunities available, particularly at the higher levels, remain grossly limited.
It lamented that some officers have retired without attaining the promotions for which they were qualified, suffering avoidable disadvantages in seniority, remuneration and retirement benefits. Without urgent intervention, the Union warns that more officers risk completing their public service careers without receiving the professional recognition they have earned.
The Union gave disturbing statistics to back its appeal, revealing that only 3 officers on Grade Level 16 were promoted to Grade Level 17 in 2024, while none were promoted in 2025. In 2026, a total of 597 officers have passed the Computer Based Test and have been invited for oral interview.
The teachers mentioned in the letter to President Tinubu that in 2024, out of over 1,500 officers who participated in the examination for Level 15 to 16, only 14 were promoted, while in 2025 just 3 were promoted.
According to the agitating education officers, in 2026, over 2,000 took the examination, and the Union fears less than 30 may be promoted.
The union clarified that its appeal is not a demand for automatic or preferential promotion, nor an attempt to compromise established public service standards, but a request for an exceptional but lawful intervention to address a longstanding structural challenge. It disclosed that the House of Representatives adopted the recommendation for waiver by both the Chairman, House Committee on Public Services and the Clerk of the National Assembly, but the lawmakers decision was allegedly swept under the carpet without justification.
The Union is therefore seeking consideration for a one-time Presidential Special Waiver or any other appropriate lawful administrative mechanism to address the accumulated promotion backlog and create opportunities for qualified and eligible officers whose progression has been stalled solely by establishment constraints. It also appealed for the consideration of national promotion, where permissible, to address the accumulated seniority disadvantages suffered by officers whose career progression was delayed through no fault of their own.
It argued that the elongation policy introduced by the government to help teachers’ careers is a blessing, not a curse, stressing that promotion stagnation has existed for more than 15 years in the Ministry of Education. It recalled that in 2013, the Union sought a Presidential waiver and a very large number was approved for teachers in the Federal Ministry of Education.
(Follow AIT News on WhatsApp, AfricaIndependentTV on YouTube, ait_online on Facebook and X (Formerly Twitter), and officialait on TikTok, Instagram and Threads)
Editor: Terverr Tyav
