No fewer than 800 primary school teachers in Ogun
State may be dismissed from service on allegation of certificate forgery.
Also, the government has uncovered 527 ‘ghost’ workers
in the state primary school system.
The state government also uncovered several cases
of falsification of age among the primary school teachers in the ongoing
teachers’ headcount exercise in the state.
Our correspondent gathered that the ‘ghost’ teachers
included some persons whose salaries were still being paid several years after
their death and others who allegedly did not have the minimum teaching
qualification of the National Certificate of Education.
It was learnt that following these discoveries,
the state government embarked on a secondary review aimed at confirming the
authenticity of the certificates and attestation letters submitted by 6,531
teachers during the audit exercise.
Our correspondent, however, gathered that in
order to escape dismissal and prosecution, many of the affected teachers
submitted their resignation letters while many others applied for voluntary
retirement from service.
Confirmning the development, Chairman, Ogun State
Universal Basic Education Board, Mufutau Ajibola, said the state government had
resolved to deal with the teachers involved in accordance with the law.
Ajibola stated that those already identified
would be handed over to the police for prosecution, warning that the government
would not accept the voluntary resignation of such teachers from service.
“Ogun State will not accept resignation from
those who have already been identified as fraudulent. Such cases will be
referred to the police and will be prosecuted. For someone to teach the
children when he or she does not have even the minimum qualification is a
serious and deliberate act of fraud, not just financial fraud but moral fraud
too,” he said.
Citing the case of a teacher who had been
presenting a statement of result instead of his original certificate since he
was employed in 1978, Ajibola said, “Such a case is highly suspicious because
in 1978, there was no backlog in the issuance of degree certificates.”
The SUBEB boss also expressed worry at the rising
incidence of falsification of birth certificates, impersonation and the
non-appearance of over 223 teachers during the screening exercise which lasted
for four weeks.
Ajibola, however said to ensure the treatment of
the cases of the affected teachers fairly, the state government had set
up a panel under the office of the head of service to hear any appeal arising
from the process.
He, therefore, assured the tutors that the panel,
which include representatives of a number of agencies and the relevant union,
would give the affected teachers the chance to have their cases reviewed.
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