Edo Government on Monday confirmed the sack of 836 teachers following a verification carried out by the Department of Information and Communication Technology.
The state’s Commissioner for Basic Education, Mr Patrick Aguinede, who confirmed the sack, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin that those affected were screened by the ICT Department.
Aguinede said it was discovered that some of the affected teachers had stayed above 35 years, which made it impossible for the state government to recruit new teachers.
“Some of the affected teachers were found to have stayed above 35 years.
“Some were physically blind, some manipulated their results and age, which later showed that they finished school before they were born.”
The affected teachers learnt of the sack when they discovered that their names were missing from the December salary voucher.
Reacting to the development, Mr Akin Adeojo, the Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Edo chapter, confirmed that the union was aware of the sack.
Adeojo, however, said that the affected teachers had not been issued with sack letters.
He said that some of the teachers were found to have stayed above 35 years in service while others were physically and mentally challenged.
He said the NUT would scrutinise the letters before taking a decision, to prevent anybody from being victimised.
