Primary and Junior Secondary School teachers in Ebonyi State have alleged an illegal deduction of N700 (seven hundred naira) from their salaries by officials of the State Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) for a correction of their promotion steps.
Speaking to newsmen in Abakaliki, the teachers said they went for promotion interview in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and came out successfully with their due steps of the promotion not added in their grade level.
They called on Governor Dave Umahi to come to their aid and prevail on the officials of the education board to refund the money collected from them, which they described as illegal.
They maintained that their investigations revealed that top officials of the board may not be aware of the money being collected from them for the correction of their Gen 35 steps of their grade levels.
“We are unhappy with what is happening to us. We are not paid well and some persons in the education board are collecting unauthorised N700.00 from us in the name of correcting our promotion steps. We have resolved to embark on protest very soon and we are going to let the authorities concerned know about these illegal deductions from our salaries. We have it on good record that the state government and some top officials of the board are not aware of these deductions and that is why we want to expose it,” the teachers said.
The teachers mostly from Afikpo South Local Government Area said they were directed by one Ogbonnaya Onu, the local government cashier, to comply with immediate effect or have themselves to blame.
Chief Hyacinth Ikpor, State Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEB) could not react on the matter when contacted on phone. (Daily Times)
