About 700 primary school teachers in Jigawa State stand the risk of losing their jobs, following ongoing verification across the 27 local government areas of the state.

The State Government had inaugurated a special verification committee to fish out ghost teachers and absentees, especially teachers who went for in-service courses in universities across the world, but had graduated and refused to report to their place of work.

It was gathered that the action of those teachers compelled the government to further suspend indefinitely in-service training courses and set up special committee to find those involved and other teachers receiving salaries without coming to work. It was also learned that most of the workers likely to be affected are those who got admission into various institutions of learning to further their education, completed their studies and refused to report back to their respective offices.

The Head of Service, Mohammed Inuwa Tahir, told journalists that some workers spent 14 to 15 years studying, saying government was aware of the development. He said: “What kind of degree course does a worker spend 15 years studying and still collecting salaries.

“Our government will not condone laziness and unfair act by some workers who have the habit of completing their study and refusing to report back to their place of work.”

According to Tahir, the screening committee was established to fish out absentees and ghost workers, contrary to some insinuations that it was set up to witch-hunt workers.

•Excerpted from a Vanguard report. Photo shows Jigawa Governor Abubakar Badaru.

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