Angola’s Education Minister, Erika Aires, has appealed to teachers to exercise restraint and continue negotiations with the Government as the country faces the prospect of a nationwide strike.
Speaking in Ndalatando, Cuanza Norte, on Monday, September 14, 2026, Erika Aires urged teachers to consider the impact a work stoppage would have on children and said dialogue remained the best route towards lasting solutions to disputes in the education sector.
The appeal comes as the National Teachers’ Union (SINPROF) considers industrial action, with the first phase scheduled from September 21 to October 15, 2026. Further phases have been planned for December 2–18, 2026; February 10–26, 2027; and May 17–June 18, 2027.
Tensions intensified after recent talks between the Education Ministry and SINPROF ended without agreement. Union Secretary-General Admar Jinguma said the negotiations produced no progress, arguing that dialogue was meaningful only when it resulted in concrete solutions to teachers’ concerns.
Among the union’s grievances is the alleged failure of the government to fully implement an agreement reached on January 8, 2026. SINPROF is demanding the inclusion of teachers it says were unfairly excluded from recruitment and promotion processes, a review of those exercises and the registration of successful teachers in the state’s financial management system.
The Education Ministry, however, has maintained that it has fulfilled the 11 points presented by SINPROF and argues that there is no justification for the planned strike.