Fake Certificate Saga: Head teacher demoted to gateman in Cross River

A Head Teacher with the Cross River State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, on Grade Level 13 has been demoted to the post of a gateman on Grade Level 04, while 758 others were sent to lower grade levels for using fake certificates to gain employment into the service.

Dr. Stephen Odey, Chairman of SUBEB, said in Calabar that over 758 teachers with fake certificates and 700 ghost teachers were uncovered during a recent screening by the board across the state.

He said: “We got a lot of petitions from stakeholders intimating us about the presence of teachers in the system who are using fake certificates and we had to embark on a screening of the teachers across the state and what we saw was marvellous.”

Dr. Odey said the fake certificates have been confiscated from their owners.

He added that although no punitive measures, apart from demotions and suspensions, would be applied on the culprits, measures have been put in place to ensure that recruitment into the state teaching service is devoid of malpractices and fake certificate syndrome as in the past.

“If we sacked all the teachers with fake certificates, the crime rate in the state will increase and also the governor of the state believes that there should be food on the table of everyone in the state.

“So we had to mete out justice with mercy by only demoting them, which is quite traumatising.”

He revealed that those with genuine certificates are being promoted, while some who were employed as security men and care-givers, but have acquired additional qualifications, have been redeployed as class teachers.