The Ebonyi Government says it has uncovered about 250 ghost teachers on its pay roll.
The Chairman of the state’s Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB), Chief Hycinth Ikpor, disclosed this on Monday in Abakaliki in an interview.
Ikpor, who described the discovery as unfortunate, said the board also uncovered about 57 teachers fraudulently receiving double salaries.
According to him, ghost workers syndrome was the major rot in the state’s school system.
“There are also teachers who receive salaries as teachers and at the same time in other government establishments.
“We uncovered a situation where someone on level 10 has three jobs—he is working in UBEB, Civil Service Commission and another ministry, while collecting about N10 million in the process.
“UBEB has been working assiduously to cleanse the system since I assumed office. We are still battling to rid the education system of ghost workers,” he said.
According to Ikpor, the salaries of the affected teachers have been stopped until the conclusion of investigations.
“We also uncovered a case where a teacher hired someone to be teaching for her since 2012, while she attended to other engagements.
“The person she hired has been teaching in the school and answering her name and was paid N8,000 monthly, but neither the teachers nor head teacher reported this to us,’’ Ikpor said.
He noted that at the end of investigations, those found culpable would be prosecuted according to the law to serve as deterrent to others.
“The recent transfer exercise in the state was done in good faith to ensure that teachers were evenly spread in both the rural and urban areas of the state,’’ he said.
