One year after they were allegedly employed by the Abia State government, about 5, 666 teachers were yesterday kicked out of the system by the government without any form of severance entitlement. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu had earlier in the year set up a committee to investigate an alleged employment of teachers without waiver by the state Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB).
In a report, the committee uncovered that out of the 5, 853 recruited between 2018 and 2020, only 187 were employed with waiver leaving 5, 666. In an announcement yesterday by the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Anthony Agbazuere, the governor also approved compulsory retirement of suspended Executive Secretary of SEMB, Mr. Lawrence Ogbonna.
Ikpeazu said: “That the Suspended Executive Secretary of Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB), Mr. Law rence Ogbonna, be retired compulsorily with immediate effect. “That, in case any of the 5,666 people employed without waiver, was asked to start work by anybody, such a person should stop forthwith, having been so employed unlawfully.
“That schools that have need for teachers in some special areas should make their submissions to the Commissioner for Education and copy the Chief of Staff to the Governor. “That whenever there is such need to employ teachers, government shall take recourse to the list of 5,666 people for employment.”