ALGON blames e-payment for absenteeism among Ebonyi

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The Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) Ebonyi State chapter has blamed teachers’ absenteeism in schools on the e-payment system.

The Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Chief Ogodoali Nome, stated this in Abakaliki during a town hall meeting on anti-corruption and the promotion of good governance, organised by the Wadata Media and Advocacy Centre (WAMAC) with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

The theme of the meeting was “Teacher Absenteeism in Ebonyi State’s Public Schools: Role of Communities in Addressing the Menace.”

According to Ogodoali, “Since the introduction of the e-payment system, the bureaucratic system in government has failed woefully because many people don’t come to work but receive their salaries at the end of the month.”

Also, a lecturer at Ebonyi State College of Education, Ikwo, Esheya Greg, said most teachers in Nigerian basic education institutions, both primary and secondary schools, are not qualified to teach the pupils and students.

He said these types of teachers in primary and secondary schools hold lower teaching certificates and use school hours to pursue higher education to qualify as classroom teachers, thereby absenting themselves from work, which has impacted negatively on the education system.

Esheya, who is the Head of the Department of Educational Foundations in the college, said that out of 564,569 teachers in primary schools in the country in 2010, only about 60% were qualified, adding that only 17% of the 133,388 teachers in junior secondary schools that year were computer literate.

“This situation ensures that those teachers with lower certificates enrol in higher degree programmes to continue enjoying promotion and progression in service. This is often without official study leave, leading to fewer hands to teach the students,” he stated.

He described absenteeism as corruption in the civil service and called for proper supervision of schools by relevant authorities to tackle the menace.

In his remarks, the Executive Director of WAMAC, Zubair Idris, said the theme of the town hall meeting was apt given the level of corruption in the country.

He observed that many teachers were collecting salaries every month without going to work, describing it as another twist on corruption.

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