Worried over the plight of primary schools teachers, the Bayelsa State Government has intervened by evolving plans to pay the salaries of primary school teachers in the state.
State Commissioner for Education, Elder Fefegha made the disclosure at the opening ceremony of a two-day training programme organised for headmasters of public primary schools across the state on the preparation of payrolls for their various schools in Yenagoa.
The programme, Tribune Online gathered was part of the ongoing state government’s reform to tackle payroll fraud and ghost worker syndrome as well as reduce the huge salary wage bill in the state.
The Commissioner said that last year the state government came to the rescue of the eight local government councils with the payment of salaries of teachers in public primary schools after they were owed several months.
Elder Fefegha recalled that a similar training which was organised for principals of public secondary schools yielded positive results and expressed hope that the training will help to check payroll fraud in the state.
Meanwhile the state Commissioner for Local Government, Agatha Goma explained that the training will give headmasters the requisite skills to prepare their payroll and it is expected to record success as being witnessed at the secondary school level.
The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite described the training as a new dawn as it is giving headmasters a unique opportunity to rewrite their history as accountability and discipline are being handed over to them.
Obuebite pointed out that the training would enable headmasters to discipline teachers under them when they err and will also equip them to work with the local government administrations and primary school authorities.
The chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Comrade Walton Liverpool said by the training, Governor Seriake Dickson has fulfilled his promise to headmasters at a dinner organised in their honour earlier this year; that they would be taught on how to prepare vouchers.
Hon. Joshua Maciver, chairman of All Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state and acting chairman of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area expressed appreciation for the programme saying the issue had been severally discussed.
In his contribution, Hon. Timipre Seipulo, Special Adviser to the Governor on Treasury said to simplify the training, copies of December payrolls will be given to the trainees and they will delete any names that should not be there.
According to Hon. Seipulo, the corrected payrolls will then be printed out for the headmasters to verify and sign placing responsibility for any lapses on their shoulders and later the education secretaries and treasurers of the councils will sign before summaries of the wage bill will be produced.
In an interview with journalists, the chairman of the Bayelsa State Wing of Association of Primary School Head teachers of Nigeria (APSHON), Comrade Faafa Peter Samuel praised the state government for organizing the programme.
Comrade Faafa asserts that fraud will be reduced if head teachers prepare their payroll vouchers, pointing out that the training should have come sooner as head teachers are happy over the development.
He said that in the past they were always surprised to see strange names in their payrolls and urged the state government to ensure continuity of the process in order to rid the system of payroll fraud.
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