Cross River In Dire Need Of 6,000 Teachers – Commissioner

Cross River State Ministry of Education has proposed the employment of 6,000 secondary school teachers to prepare students for the forthcoming Junior Secondary School Examinations and Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) organised by the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC).

The commissioner for education, Senator Stephen Odey, disclosed this to journalists at a media parley yesterday at the Conference Hall of the state Ministry of Education in Calabar.

“The governor should grant us opportunity to employ six thousand teachers to assist in the preparation of senior secondary school Certificate Examination SSCE and WAEC.
“We have proposed the employment of 6,000 teachers. Even the ARC Department have staff shortage. Almost all the staff who are there are casual staff.
“If the Ministry of Education fails, all other departments will fail. Government cannot afford to invest over fourth hundred and sixty something million naira in the registration of students for WAEC examinations yet with no teachers for these students,” he maintained.

The commissioner stressed that the state government has sunk in over four hundred and sixty something million in the registration of students of Cross River origin preparing for the WAEC examinations.
While commending the Governor Otu-led administration for the registration of students to sit for the examination, he stressed that it is the more reason why teachers need to be recruited if good results are expected from these categories of students.

Odey maintained that it won’t be normal for a government to pay for WAEC registration for students when the students in question lacked qualified teachers to put them through adding that it was the reason why the Ministry of Education decided to make the proposal to the state governor whom he described as a man with a listening ear.

He said that six out of the 37 secondary school principals indicted by the disciplinary committee set up by the state Ministry of Education have been exonerated leaving 31 indicted.
He said that the 31 principals will be sanctioned with demotion, while those with grievous offences would be shown the way out in line with the committee’s recommendation.