People pay N0.3m bribe to get school principal jobs in Enugu — NGO

The revelation was made by a non-governmental group, Anti-Corruption Awareness Organisation, which petitioned the state Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

According to the group's petition, signed by its Director of Intelligence, Chijioke Attah, and a member of its legal team, Josephat Omeke, there are corrupt practices in the state's education sector.

"The state government offered free education to ease the burden of parents and guardians of pupils and students in our primary and junior secondary schools," the group stated.

“However, our investigations reveal that certain elements within the system work to frustrate these good intensions of the state government."

To buttress its point, the group noted that there was massive fraud in the appointment and posting of school principals to schools in the state.

READ: 38 primary school pupils get scholarships after singing at governor's campaign rally

It said prospective principals have to give corrupt government official bribes between N250,000 and N300,000, determined by the student population of the school involved.

“To post the principal and allow them to remain there, they must continue to pay gratifications to certain officials, else another higher bidder will replace them."

The body also frowned against the introduction of scratch cards as the means of checking and obtaining examination results.

“The fraud associated with the scratch card is bad. The real cost of the card as ascertained from the producers is N150 while students buy it at N800," it further stated.

“Some principals capitalise on the foundation of the fraud and increase the tally to N1,500 per student."

The anticorruption body further frowned against arbitrary levies charged in schools, lack of integrity, transparency and non-accountability in the system.

It called on the government to take urgent redemptive action.

“Your Excellency, we strongly believe that further detailed investigations will go a long way in sanitising the school system in Enugu State and posterity will always remember you."

Governor Ugwuanyi is seen as a strong supporter of education.

It will be recalled that he gave he made headlines after he gave full scholarships to 38 pupils of Inland Primary school, Imilike-Enu, Udenu LGA of Enugu, because they sang a welcome song at his gubernatorial campaign rally.