Tears In C'River as Ayade Prepares to Demote 734 Teachers

Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade is set to take a bold step in strengthening the state's education system by demoting over 734 teachers with fake certificates.

The teachers who were said to be parading National Certificate of Education (NCE) and degrees were uncovered through the just concluded verification exercise conducted by the Cross River Universal Basic Education Board (CRSUBEB)

SUBEB Chairman, Dr. Stephen Odey, disclosed this in Calabar recently when he addressed some of the affected teachers and other stakeholders on the outcome of verification exercise conducted between January 18th, 2016 to March 14th, 2017.

Odey said that, “At the end of the exercise, I can inform you that we discovered over 734 teachers with fake NCE and degree certificates and over 230 teachers with referred grade II (TC II)certificates .
“We have sent letters to the various institutions involved and we have their replies,’’ he said.

He said Governor Ben Ayade has directed him to take any measure against those involved but not to sack them.

“So, we are not going to dismiss them even though they have committed fraud, but, we are going to step them down and allow them on humanitarian grounds, to go back to school and remedy their situations.
“We do not want to take away food from their tables. We are granting them amnesty because we are brothers and sisters,’’ he said.

The SUBEB boss also noted that the verification exercise was also to correct the irregularities in payment of salaries that teachers have suffered in the past.

According to him, "SUBEB has officially taken over payment of teachers' salaries, we have worked out  modalities were there will be regular payment of salaries".

He maintained that the Governor was disturbed about the rot in the basic education system, but had given the board the go-ahead to sanitise the system at all cost.

While advising the affected teachers and others to seek admission for further studies through sandwich programmes and write his office for approval, he promised that any teacher that corrects his or her situation would be reinstated to their positions

Warning teachers against truancy, Odey added that SUBEB will in the near future install digital monitoring devices to monitor teachers’ activities while in school.

Reacting, the Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr. Eyo-Nsa Itam, commended the board for its efforts to sanitize the basic education sector.

Itam said that, "Since you assumed office, this present board had taken several steps to put the basic education in proper perspective.

“You have done many things aimed at ensuring the welfare of teachers in the state, we commend you, even though this exercise has its positive and negative parts, we are fully in support of you.

“I advise our teachers to take advantage of this exercise and return to school through legal means to better their lives".

He called on affected teachers, with genuine complaints, to lodge same with the State chapter of the NUT.