Niger govt uncovers 1,500 ghost teachers

A panel set up by the Niger State Universal Basic Education Board has uncovered 1,500 ghost primary school teachers as well as 1000 others who are not qualified to teach in any primary school in the state.

The committee was set up by the board to help audit its staff register.

This was disclosed by Usman Katako, who chaired the committee, while submitting the committee’s report to the chairman of the board, Isah Adamu in Minna on Monday.

According to Katako, 28,058 persons were on the payroll of the board but only 26,070 showed up for screening, adding that 1,000 among those who appeared for screening were discovered not to have certificates and “cannot read and write.”

“The verification covered all the LEA administrative staff and classroom teachers. We are more particular with teachers and administrative staff because administrative staff members supervise those in the classrooms. And about 50 per cent of those with issues of certificate racketeering are class teachers. We found that over 1,000 of them couldn’t read and write,” Katako stated.

Read also: Bauchi govt uncovers 396 ghost workers

Katako also said the committee advised the board to implement the approved promotion of some teachers who had been on the waiting list since 2018.

In his response, the board chairman, Adamu said he would ensure the full implementation of the report to put the teaching profession on a proper footing.

He said: “If you cannot read and write, you cannot be a teacher; so, everybody must work according to his capacity.

“We can reshuffle the system. If you cannot teach, we are going to send you to either be a cleaner or a nanny, but definitely not as a classroom teacher.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now