The Minister of Education, Professor Ansu Dao Sonii has said his ministry remains firm on its decision to replace teachers who are in the constant habit of reneging on their responsibilities.
Speaking in Nimba recently at the end of a day-long acquaintance meeting with education stakeholders of the county, Minister Sonii stressed that the Ministry of Education will not hesitate to drop and replace any classroom teacher in the act of abandoning duty during instructional hours without genuine reasons.
“The ministry will not hesitate to replace any classroom teacher who will abandon his/or her duty without any genuine reason and excuse,” Minister Sonii stressed.
According to the Minister, the ministry has observed with grave concern that some teachers, especially in the rural areas, are in the constant habit of abandoning the classrooms and doing something different, leaving the students to roam the community when they should be in the classrooms learning.
Minister Sonii noted that this act by some teachers does not only disrupt the students’ education, but undermines the good intentions and strides of the Ministry of Education.
According to the Minister, delinquent teachers who abandon their duties for some other activities but collect salaries at the end of every month are involved in another form of corruption that should not be practiced by teachers who are preparing the younger ones to be good leaders in the future.
According to the MoE boss, the ministry has a total of 17,600 teachers on its payroll, but yet has shortage of teachers in some schools across the country, attributing this to the refusal of some teachers to do their job with commitment.
“We have 17,600 teachers on the ministry’s payroll, yet we have shortage of teachers in some schools in the country; it doesn’t make sense at all,” Minister Sonii said in an angry tone.
He noted that the Ministry of Education has stepped up its monitoring across the country to ensure that teachers and school administrators comply with all mandates from the ministry, threatening to immediately replace anyone who reneges on his/her responsibilities as a classroom teacher.
The MoE minister also threatened to punish any school administrator, including Principals, County and District Education Officers, who refuses to take action or compromise with delinquent teachers in their area of assignment for whatever reason.
According to Minister Sonii, teachers are to be in the classrooms at all times, except when there are circumstances that could prevent them from being on duty, and stressed that for a teacher to be excused from job, it should be based on an approval from the Principal or other authorities of the school after that teacher has written a letter of excuse.
Meanwhile, Minister Sonii has called on authorities of the MoE, especially those in the rural areas, to help the ministry in its quest to revamp the country’s education system by reporting or punishing those who do not conform to the rules and regulations of the ministry for the good of every Liberian.