Fresh school year opens with firm warning
A crisp morning in Brazzaville set the stage for the 2025-2026 union rentrée as the Federation of Workers in Science, Sport, Education, Information and Culture threw down a direct challenge to what it calls a culture of office sluggishness (FETRASSEIC statement).
Standing before dozens of delegates, National Secretary-General Basile Ngoli urged members to “banish amateurism and improvisation” and embrace disciplined service to pupils and citizens. His words echoed through the Social Affairs Hall, drawing applause and a few discreet nods from ministry observers.
Brazzaville gathering sets urgent tone
Ngoli’s opening address did not mince words. He blamed stalled promotion files, unprocessed tenure requests and erratic Parity Advancement Commissions for keeping thousands of civil servants in career limbo, a problem that, he warned, “bleeds motivation in classrooms”.
Reporters from Les Dépêches de Brazzaville noted that several teachers waved brown envelopes symbolising documents stuck for years in ministerial drawers, underscoring the frustration felt in schools from Ouesso to Pointe-Noire (Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, 8 Nov 2024).
Administrative delays under fire
FETRASSEIC faulted key departments at the Civil Service, Finance and the General Secretariat of Government for “arbitrary” processing, insisting that equal treatment and transparent timelines are essential to restore trust. The union claims some files spend four years in the pipeline, far beyond statutory deadlines.
An internal survey presented at the meeting shows 62 percent of respondents blaming paperwork holdups for late lesson planning, as teachers juggle extra part-time jobs to offset frozen salaries. “Quality learning starts with secure staff,” Ngoli argued.
Call for fair hiring and pensions
Beyond files, delegates criticised what they regard as fanciful recruitment drives that bypass experienced temporary staff. Radio-Congo’s education desk reported cases where volunteers training pupils for five years were overlooked while new graduates were fast-tracked into posts (Radio-Congo, 9 Nov).
Ngoli demanded larger recruitment quotas in education, culture, youth and sports, plus regular pension payments. He backed the Education International view that active teachers deserve decent wages and retirees should receive indexes aligned with current salary scales to prevent a “poverty cliff”.
Union treasurer Céline Kimbembé stressed that “a career must end with dignity, not debt”, citing retirees who wait months for allowances. Delegates resolved to press the issue at the next tripartite talks with the Ministry of Finance.
Proposed single window solution
To unclog the chain, FETRASSEIC proposes a two-yearly single-window bureau where every state agent could submit and track administrative acts. The model mirrors customs’ one-stop shops already tested at Pointe-Noire port, which cut clearance times by half, according to the Chamber of Commerce.
The union believes digital dashboards and SMS alerts would spare workers repeated trips between ministries. “We must treat teachers like the backbone of the economy,” Ngoli said, inviting telecom partners to pilot the platform at three regional offices in 2026.
Teachers included in policy making
Citing recommendations from the national Education States-General, FETRASSEIC says teachers need a seat at every decision table shaping curricula, language policy and infrastructure. The federation supports Education International’s slogan, “The voice of the profession”, framing it as a new social contract.
Professor Jean-Bruno Okemba from Marien Ngouabi University told our reporter that genuine participation could speed adoption of digital textbooks and classroom solar kits, innovations he says stall when teachers are consulted only after budgets are set.
Government responses and next steps
A senior official at the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, speaking off record, acknowledged processing backlogs but highlighted recent hires of 2,500 teachers and new software for human-resource tracking. “We share the same goal of quality service,” he said.
He added that a task force, including union delegates, would review pension indexation before the 2025 budget revision. Observers welcomed the tone, seeing space for pragmatic collaboration rather than confrontation.
The Confédération Syndicale Congolaise, to which FETRASSEIC belongs, plans a follow-up meeting with Civil Service minister Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas to discuss the single-window concept. Dates are expected to be announced in early December, union officials said.
Voices from the classroom
Across Brazzaville, teachers reacted with cautious optimism. “If my advancement order finally arrives, I can focus on my pupils instead of chasing stamps,” said primary teacher Josiane Mabiala outside Lycée Thomas-Sankara.
Sports instructor Rodrigue Mavoungou, meanwhile, urged patience. “Reforms take time, but at least we are talking solutions,” he noted, lacing football boots for an after-school session. Their tempered hope mirrors a wider public expecting concrete steps, not just communiqués.
