The 207 truant teachers who were discovered by the Zamfara State Ministry of Education, whose salaries were stopped for three months, have written to the state government apologising for their respective offences.
Addressing journalists in Gusau, the commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Malam Wadatau Madawaki, said the ministry had, after setting up a verification committee to ascertain the level of genuine teachers across secondary schools in the state, discovered 207 teachers who were on truancy.
He said the exercise was to enable the government to improve the welfare and condition of service.
The commissioner explained that it was on that basis that the state government through the Education Ministry, directed the State Ministry of Finance to suspend their salaries for three months pending investigation.
“At the end of the committee exercise, they discovered some of the teachers absconding from their classes at different stages, while some are attending classes for only a few days in a week, others were found to be working in two places receiving salaries every month,” he said.
The commissioner further explained that those teachers found guilty of truancy, went on social media accusing the government of stopping their salaries unnecessarily.
He said it was later that the truant teachers, after realising their mistakes, mobilised themselves and decided to apologise for their offences to the Education Ministry and the state governor, Dauda Lawal.
“The teachers on their own, after realising their mistakes, decided to gather at the Ministry of Education where they respectively apologised in writing seeking favour of the state governor, Dauda Lawal and the Education Ministry over their offences,” the commissioner said.
Receiving the letters, the commissioner promised to forward them to the governor and appeal to him as demanded to end the situation.
While presenting their apology letters to the state commissioner for Education, the suspended teachers who confessed of absconding from the classroom, admitted their guilt, promising never to allow it happen again.
Speaking on behalf of other truant teachers, Nafisa Isah and Malam Abubakar, sought the pardon of the state government and ministry of education.
“We believe that the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal, the commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, have the feelings of Zamfara people and we are sorry for our wrong doing,” they said.
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