RSUBEB discovers 1,477 ghost workers

The Rivers State Universal Basic Education Board has discovered 1,477 ghost workers in the ministry of education.

The Chairman of RSUBEB, Mr. Ali Oruitemeka, stated this in Port Harcourt during a press briefing to mark the current board’s two years anniversary.

Oruitemeka said that after the discovery, the names of the fake workers were removed from its payroll and the board started saving about N200m per month after the ghost workers were sent away.

At the briefing, the RSUBEB boss also said that it would soon begin a clampdown on parents and guardians whose wards were caught hawking during school hours.

Oruitemeka warned that the board would not hesitate to order the arrest of any parent that allowed his child to hawk on the street during school hours as from September 2011.

He explained that while the state government had provided free and compulsory education for the children of the state, it would be wrong for parents to stop their children from taking advantage of the policy.

He said, “We are calling on parents and guardians to allow their children go to school and we are assuring them that they are not going to pay a dime as fees. The state government has already made provisions for uniforms, sandals, bags and books for the children.”

Oruitemeka said the RSUBEB law had stipulated that any parent, who refused to send his child to school, would be made to pay fine or serve a particular jail term.

“Why should parents send their children to hawk sachet water during school hours? We are going to be serious with that from September during the new session.

“We will go round the state and when we find a child on the street during school hours, we will ensure that the child takes us to his parents. The board has put in place the mechanism to implement the provision of this law,” he said.

On the achievement of the board, Oruitemeka pointed out that over 600 teachers had benefitted from the board’s training programme while 200 English Language teachers were being trained by RSUBEB in partnership with the British Council and the Cambridge University.

He said, “We have also concluded training for special schools because of their special needs while 9,000 teachers have benefitted from the last promotion exercise.”