The Minister of Secondary Education, Prof Nalova Lyonga, has said her Ministry will track and sanction principals of government schools who are protecting absentee teachers.
In a communiqué dated September 12, 2024 Minister Nalova frowned that some principals keep defying government instructions, covering up for teachers who have abandoned their jobs.
“Reports from the field reveal that, despite repeated warnings, some principals still cover up teachers who are in a position of irregular absence,” she said.
According to the Minister, the absence of these teachers, most of whom are abroad, is hinders the smooth running of teaching activities in schools.
To her, paying teachers for no work done is creating a financial burden on the state.
These kinds of violations, she says, will not go unpunished.
“I would like to reassure you that these unscrupulous principals, who violate the law and my instructions for their interests rather than caring about the future of our learners, will be tracked down and severely punished by the provisions of the law,” the Secondary Education boss said.
“As such, impromptu inspections will be randomly carried out to thoroughly investigate this state of affairs.”
She added that principals involved in such a conspiracy against national education should stop the unethical practice and immediately forward the list of all absent personnel to the Ministry of Secondary Education.
This is not the first time that the Minister is hammering on the issue of teachers abandoning their jobs.
The Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms, in recent years, has identified thousands of ghost workers on government payroll.
Despite abandoning their jobs, mostly to seek greener pastures abroad, they continue to receive government salaries at the detriment of the Cameroonian people.
Reports indicate that teachers and doctors constituted the highest number of professionals
leaving the country for greener pastures abroad.
