The Kaduna State Government has fired 233 teachers for allegedly presenting forged certifications during their recruitment process.
Tijani Abdullahi, the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, stated this at a news conference in Kaduna on Thursday.
The teachers were fired, he added, after inquiries from the universities they claimed to have attended revealed that they had given forged qualifications.
The board’s decision to investigate the teachers’ certifications began in April 2021, according to the SUBEB Chairman, as part of the board’s mission to guarantee that all teachers have the qualifications they claim.
According to him, the exercise’s main goal is to verify that all of our teachers have the required credentials, which are the minimum requirements for employment as teachers.
According to the Kaduna SUBEB Chairman, 451 certificates have been confirmed so far by contacting the institutions that issued them, with nine of the 13 universities contacted responding.
“According to the institutions’ reply, 233 teachers presented forged certificates. This reflects 51% of the 451 certificates for which responses from the granting institutions have been received. 212 of the 233 bogus certifications were rejected by one institution.
“The Board will fire the 233 teachers who gave these fraudulent degrees, and their files will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice for forgery prosecution.” The Board will continue to verify the authenticity of certificates provided by instructors to guarantee that impostors do not degrade this important profession. “As part of our accountability responsibility, the names of the 233 teachers found to have supplied fake certificates will be placed on the Kaduna State Government’s website today.”
The Board also announced that starting in January 2022, it will administer a new competency test for 12,254 instructors as part of its ongoing evaluation of teachers for both their development and better learning delivery.
It will be remembered that the Kaduna State Government hired 25,000 new teachers in 2017 after dismissing over 22,000 unqualified teachers following a competency review.