Mass Retirement Hits Imo IMSUBEB
By Okey Alozie
Imo Secondary Education management Board (SEMB) is under fire now following the administrative blunders, extortion of money high handedness, intimidation, furgery and other fraud allegations against it by aggrieved staff, principals, parents and secondary school children .
Information revealed that petitions against SEMB top officials has flooded Nigerian Union of Teachers State office, government house and Imo House Assembly since last week following the order given by the management to the principals through the zonal directiors.
Our source revealed that the zonal Directors of SEMB who are working as agent of SEMB Boss (executive secretary), few days ago instructed that principals, every child in Imo Secondary school should pay the sum of #1000 for centrally set papers. Aggrieved parents and principals who saw this as extortion revolted against this. Even the school children as we gathered are planning to go on protest because this levy of #1000 for the centrally set Exam. The executive secretary and her team have scheduled for the exam to take place at the end of this academic session (next week).
The aggrieved parents who are protesting against this #1000 and other unapproved payments which the Directors have been collecting for SEMB want the executive secretary and his team to be investigated properly on this particular issue adding that the extortion at SEMB office has now come to alarming rate.
“Is it the state government that funds this centrally set Exams or the school children”. Angry parents questioned.
One of the government appointees who spoke on this #1000 payment described it as extortion and criminal act and a calculated attempt to ridicule the good image of the 3R government of distinguished senator Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo State. He regretted why SEMB officials are turning things upside down in the Education sector .
The government official who did not want his name to be mention on print disclosed that the governor has Put in enough fund in education sector yet some self centered people in different offices are working against the good vision of the governor by not behaving well.
An education expert who spoke to our roving reporter made it abundantly clear that government can not ask school children to fund exam that is own by the state.
“This payment of #1000 for the Centrally set Exams Paper is unacceptable”, he concluded.
Investigative report revealed that the order and directive given to principals to collect #1000 for Centrally set papers from each student in Imo Secondary schools has now made the Principals to be fraudulent as they are extorting the students heavily. The worst hit are the schools in Owerri Municipal. It has been alleged that some principals in Owerri Municipal especially within 15km radius from Owerri capital city are collecting more than #1000.
Principals that are collecting #2500 will be named in our next edition.
Even in the promotion exams conducted by the school, greedy principals in Imo Schools still collect over #700 for the exam papers yet, they will force the teachers to write questions on the black Board.
In a related, development mass retirement has now hit Imo Secondary school principals as many of them are now out of the government pay roll.
According to source SEMB is claiming that the retirement is targeted on those who took their first school leaving certificate in 1972, 1973, 1974 and 1975.
Findings revealed that up to those who took their first leaving certificate in education in the year 1976, 1977 and 1978 were also retired from the service. Information from aggrieved principals revealed that the retirement was based on selection and desparity as the targeted principals and Directors are those who are alleged not to be in the good book of the executive secretary .
We further gathered that some principals who are still alive were reported dead. Moreover some of those who were supposed to retire in October 2024 were retired last year 2023. Further findings revealed that there were people of 1975, 1976,1977 who were not touched in the retirement saga (exercise). The question many are asking the state governor is why must the exercise be selective?.
It is also on record that from the payroll status presented by most of the principals,
statutorily, their retirement age as reported in their printout quoted months in 2024. Many are now asking for an explanation and moral justification for SEMB to retire them since the 65 year of age retirement policy in Nigeria has been domesticated by Imo house of Assembly and gazzeted by the governor.
“Is the 65 yrs retirement age policy not working again in Imo”. An aggrieved principal questioned.
