The principal and the Examination Officer of Government Day Secondary School, GDSS, Salihu Dogo in Jalingo, the capital of Taraba State, have been suspended.
Their suspension, which was contained in a letter issued by the State Ministry of Education, followed an alleged attempt by the duo to sabotage the free education policy of the state governor, Dr Agbu Kefas.
The principal, who was identified as Haruna Joshua Assembo and the Examination Officer, Ezekiel Rimamsikwe, were alleged to have been selling the West African Examination Certificate, WAEC, and National Examination Certificate, NECO, exam slots to external candidates for personal gain.
The Ministry noted that both examinations were meant to be free of charge for all intending students in the state.
The state government, it would be recalled, had released funds for the payment of both WAEC and NECO.
The gesture was meant to reduce the impact of the current economic hardship on parents and guardians of secondary school students.
The Ministry, as at the time of filing this report, has constituted an investigative committee to dig into the matter with a view to exposing the suspects’ levels of involvement.
While the Vice-Principal, Administration, has been assigned with the responsibility in overseeing the affairs of the school, the Examination Officer has been asked to, as a matter of urgency, hand over his office to a competent person pending the outcome of the investigation.
Taraba Govt suspends principal, exam officer over alleged sale of WAEC, NECO forms