Education Ministry staff warned against extortion

BY PETER OKUTU

ABAKALIKI- EBONYI State Government, Tuesday, threatened to sanction any staff of the Ministry of Education found to have extorted money from any of the proprietors or proprietresses whose schools were affected in the ongoing closure of sub-standard and illegal schools across the state.

Commissioner for Education, Mr. Chibueze Agbo, who handed down the warning in Abakaliki while reacting to allegation that some staff of the Ministry were collecting illegal fees from proprietors of the affected schools with a view to exempting them from the exercise, denied the allegation.

He, however, stressed that state the government would deal with any staff of the Ministry found thwarting the effort of government towards revamping the education sector in the state.

He said: “If any person tries such, he or she will be disciplined. I want you to know that all the schools that the State Executive Council closed down remain closed. We will enforce it. No amount of propaganda will stop us from implementing government’s decision.

“It is not true that such thing happened but if it is true we will take action.”