CALABAR - Senator Stephen Odey, the Cross River State Commissioner for Education, has revealed that 1,572 teachers were found with fake certificates during his tenure as Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
Odey shared this information on Tuesday in Calabar during a courtesy visit by the leadership and members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River Council, to his office.
The Commissioner, who led Cross River SUBEB from 2015 to 2022 before his election as senator, stated that some teachers had purchased their certificates for as much as N300,000.
Addressing the educational challenges in the state, he emphasized his commitment to tackling the systemic issues, stressing that teachers must be exemplary. "The rot in the educational system is enormous and we are facing this daunting challenge, that is why we need the support of the media to help in the fight to sanitize the sector," Odey said. "I won't fold my hands to the fact that people are paying money to be appointed principal or head teachers when they don't even have the capacity, or where you give approval for a principal to collect N4,000 and he goes ahead to collect N8,000 from students."
Reflecting on his tenure, Odey noted that reform efforts often met resistance, yet he was gratified that his commitment to rectifying the issues was being recognized. He remarked, "Since I came into office as Commissioner and from my days in SUBEB, I have seen a lot because while you are trying to do the right thing people will fight back. However, I am happy that people now know that we are doing the right thing."
Odey underscored the critical importance of education, stating that if the sector deteriorates, the state's future is at risk. He also refuted claims from earlier media reports suggesting that Cross River had not recruited teachers since 2018, clarifying that he had recruited 2,500 teachers in 2019 as Chairman of SUBEB. He mentioned that he had requested Governor Bassey Otu's approval to recruit 6,000 more teachers to address the issue of inadequate teaching staff in the state.
Earlier, the Chairman of the NUJ, Archibong Bassey, hailed the Commissioner's determination and assured him of the media's continued support in his efforts to clean up the educational sector. She stated, "We need to groom our children to be able to compete with the children in other climes. I have been following your activities as Commissioner and I have seen your passion, even to the point of clamping down on schools that did not meet the state's criteria."