The Chairman of the Cross River State Universal Basic Education Board, CR-SUBEB, Dr Stephen Odey has said the Board executed a record 639 projects between 2015 to 2023.
This was as he further revealed that 1,500 teachers possessing fake certificates were uncovered within this period under consideration.
Speaking with newsmen on Tuesday, as he gave an account of his stewardship, Odey said all the projects have been completed and handed over to relevant authorities.
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Cross River State was rated one of the worst performing states pre-2015 in basic education following the state government’s failures to access counterpart funding with the Universal Basic Education Board, UBEC.
To access the fund, state governments must contribute its part of the grants to at least 50%, forcing many states to abandon the fund with the federal government.
Odey however said the administration of Ben Ayade provided matching grants which enabled the Board to access the grants.
“When we resumed in 2015, there were lots of backlogs of matching grants that the state was unable to access, but the governor, Ben Ayade, provided the needed access through the payment of counterpart funds to enable us achieve all these feats.
“This is also why Cross River SUBEB by UBEC rating is the highest because we were the first in the country to be able to access the 2022 matching grants, a development which positioned us ahead of other states,” Odey said.
According to him, “When we say we came on a rescue mission, we actually came on a rescue mission, we have done our part as we were able to uncover over 1500 teachers with fake certificates.
“Some were lured by their friends and colleagues, while some got promotions with these fake certificates ahead of those who legitimately went to school,” he further said.
He pointed out that, “Teachers were calling and thanking me for what I did, a lot of them apprehended went back to school and today are properly groomed, we have written to the governor to grant us approval to reinstate them on the positions they deserve now because they have genuinely gone back to school to upgrade themselves.”
He commended the state governor noting that, “Ayade has done great in SUBEB even though we still need more teachers because on a daily basis you see retirement of teachers, in some schools you see three or four teachers for primary one to six.”
He also said the state deepened training of teachers, education secretaries and Board Directors to better equip them to fit into the philosophy and target of his leadership.
Odey further revealed that as part of his stewardship, a Smart School was established for quality assurance purpose which would help provide better education in the state.