Panic grips teachers as Minister Nalova goes tough.

Apparently inspired by the words of Eneke, the bird in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, that “since men have learned to shoot without missing their mark…I have learned to fly without perching…”, the no-nonsense Minister of Secondary Education, Prof Nalova Lyonga, has rolled out fresh stringent measures to tackle the phenomenon of prolonged absenteeism by teachers in Secondary Schools across the country.

Though government has been relentless in the fight against irregular absences in schools, the phenomenon seems not getting any better. 

But Minister Nalova Lyonga appears to have found a magic wand to the practice that has bedeviled the Secondary Education sector.

The hitherto ping pong games, usually played by administrators and teachers who have abandoned their duty posts, may soon be a thing of the past.

With the introduction of a mechanism through which members of the Secondary Education family can now anonymously report cases of absentee teachers to authorities, there seems to be no hiding place for defaulters. 

In a statement addressed to staff of members of the Secondary Education family, Minister Nalova Lyonga wrote: “The Minister of Secondary Education hereby informs all MINESEC staff that it is now possible to anonymously report personnel who are in a position of irregular absences at www.minesecdrh.cm”.

The communique added: “The Minister calls on all those who know about teachers who are absent from their duty posts to report them through the above-mentioned address”.

The latest move by Minister Nalova Lyonga to curb absences by teachers in Secondary Schools has been saluted from across the board. 

It comes amidst complaints of teachers abandoning their duty posts leaving learners stranded. 

Most of the teachers are regularly seen loitering in towns and cities, often involved in other activities, yet are always the first to show up for their salaries. 

Others are known to be living abroad, yet, earning salaries back home for no work done.

Move in right direction

It is not the first time the Minister of Secondary Education is going tough on absentee teachers.

In July 2021, Minister Nalova Lyonga published a list of some 600 teachers who had abandoned teaching for greener pastures in Europe, America, and other destinations abroad but continued receiving salaries. 

The absentee Secondary School teachers were summoned then to show up at the Ministry to justify themselves. Among those summoned were over 300 absentee teachers from the crisis-hit North West and South West Regions.

The teachers, it was gathered, had abandoned their duty posts in search of greener pastures abroad. The release had indicated the names, grades, matricule numbers and schools where the concerned were assigned to. The release also contained countries where they could possibly be residing.

Out of the 600 teachers, the North West Region alone recorded the highest number of escapee teachers on the list. The Region had some 264 whose whereabouts were unknown. The Centre Region came second with 106, followed by the South West Region.

“The Minister of Secondary Education invites the aforementioned personnel, who were declared absent and might be out of the national territory, to report to the Ministry of Secondary Education, Department of Human Resources, Room 507 (voucher office), within seven days from June 30, 2021,” the statement from the Minister issued then, ordered.

“They should come along with all supporting documents to justify their current administrative position. Failure to do so, disciplinary measures will be taken against them,” added the document.

It was gathered that the runaway teachers who were receiving their salaries were fished out during the several headcounts of staff of the Ministry of Secondary Education.

It makes meaning to recall that since her appointment as Minister of Secondary Education in 2018, Prof Nalova Lyonga, has taken a number of sweeping reforms that have put the country’s Secondary Education sector on world stage.

Among other reforms, she is on record to have fought corruption in the Secondary Education milieu through the introduction of digital payment of tuition fees in government schools.

Her Green and Clean School Concept has also been paying off especially given that most schools are aligning with the initiative. Campuses have since been transformed into clean environments, conducive for learning.

She has equally instilled order in the sector through the prohibition of corporal punishment on campuses. Her decision to abolish the dismissal of students under the excuse that they are pregnant, has also received applause from across the board.