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Teachers of some public primary and secondary schools in Akwa Ibom have accused their head teachers and principals of defrauding the government through the inflation of pupils and students enrolment figures.
The teachers, who pleaded anonymity, said the reason the school heads inflate enrollment figures was for them to have subvention from government.
Some of the aggrieved teachers allege that the school heads make them mark an inflated register of students every school day, set and mark the examination papers and record the results of the said students but give them no financial inducement in return for their work.
The teachers claim that the extra money the school heads get from the subventions on the inflated school enrollment figure could have soothed their frayed nerves owing to the increased work load, undue strain and pressure the are made to undergo because of the ghost students.
It was gathered that schools in rural areas especially in Uruan and Oruk Anam local government areas among others are among the culprits.
However, the Commissioner of Education, Prof Nse Essien said Tuesday in Uyo that there was no truth to the allegations as the government gives subvention to school heads based on the record of head count of students it get from the State Secondary Education Board (SSEB), State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), and State Technical School Board (STSB).
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Helen Anthony Ante who spoke on behalf of the commissioner said the government does not rely on the school heads for the enrollment figures to avoid a hike, adding that it confirms the figures every year through the list of admitted students.
She said the ministry is currently monitoring the compliance level of teachers and students in school attendance for the new school year, and revealed that the state government recently recruited 3,000 school teachers who have just resumed work for the new school year.
“We don’t get the enrollment figures from schools because if you get it from them, the tendency is there for them to hike it up. So we know the number of enrollment in our schools.
“We do head count and confirm it every year, even those who have been admitted in the school this year through our placement. We go from school to school to do the head count so that we know those who have reported in various schools.
“The allegation is baseless. We take statistics of both teachers and students from all the schools we visited to cross check with what we have, knowing that it is a new school year. Recently, the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) recruited 3,000 teachers,” she said.we visited to cross check with what we have, knowing that it is a new school year. Recently, the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) recruited 3,000 teachers,” she said. and secondary schools in Akwa Ibom have accused their head teachers and principals of defrauding the government through the inflation of pupils and students enrolment figures.
The teachers, who pleaded anonymity, said the reason the school heads inflate enrollment figures was for them to have subvention from government.
Some of the aggrieved teachers allege that the school heads make them mark an inflated register of students every school day, set and mark the examination papers and record the results of the said students but give them no financial inducement in return for their work.
The teachers claim that the extra money the school heads get from the subventions on the inflated school enrollment figure could have soothed their frayed nerves owing to the increased work load, undue strain and pressure the are made to undergo because of the ghost students.
It was gathered that schools in rural areas especially in Uruan and Oruk Anam local government areas among others are among the culprits.
However, the Commissioner of Education, Prof Nse Essien said Tuesday in Uyo that there was no truth to the allegations as the government gives subvention to school heads based on the record of head count of students it get from the State Secondary Education Board (SSEB), State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), and State Technical School Board (STSB).
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs Helen Anthony Ante who spoke on behalf of the commissioner said the government does not rely on the school heads for the enrollment figures to avoid a hike, adding that it confirms the figures every year through the list of admitted students.
She said the ministry is currently monitoring the compliance level of teachers and students in school attendance for the new school year, and revealed that the state government recently recruited 3,000 school teachers who have just resumed work for the new school year.
“We don’t get the enrollment figures from schools because if you get it from them, the tendency is there for them to hike it up. So we know the number of enrollment in our schools.
“We do head count and confirm it every year, even those who have been admitted in the school this year through our placement. We go from school to school to do the head count so that we know those who have reported in various schools.
“The allegation is baseless. We take statistics of both teachers and students from all the schools we visited to cross check with what we have, knowing that it is a new school year. Recently, the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) recruited 3,000 teachers,” she said.
