No fewer than 10 public school teachers in Ebonyi State are to forfeit their March salaries for being late to and/or absenting themselves from work.
Chairman of the Ebonyi State Universal Basic Education Board, Chief Hyacinth Ikpo, made the disclosure in Abakaliki, on Wednesday, while addressing newsmen after an unscheduled visit to some schools.
Ikpo said that the some of the teachers were late while others were absent in their various schools when the team visited.
The chairman said that government would not condone truancy and laxity on the part of teachers in the state.
According to him, lateness and absenteeism by any government worker without permission from the appropriate authority constitutes serious breach of civil service rules.
Ikpo said that all the affected teachers would forfeit their March salaries to serve as a deterrent to others.
He directed the head teachers in the affected schools to issue queries to the teachers.
“The official time for resumption of duty is 8 a.m. and it is sad to see some of the teachers coming to school by 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. We are saying that the action is not acceptable to government.
“We were in some of the schools as early as 7.30 a.m. and we cannot tolerate the act of some people attending to their private businesses only to come to work when they feel it is convenient for them.
“The behaviour is tantamount to truncating the efforts of the present administration to reposition the civil service as well as the education sector.
“There is sanction for every offence under the state’s civil service and accordingly, all teachers found to have contravened the rules will lose their March salaries in addition to receiving queries.
“We are going to forward their names to payroll for appropriate action.’’
Ikpo also appealed to parents and guardians to always release their children and wards to school on time, noting that pupils coming late to school would be punished.
The chairman called for collaboration between the board and stakeholders to move the education sector forward.
He commended Gov. Dave Umahi for the efforts being made to train teachers and improve infrastructure in schools. (NAN)