By Hajaratu Kalokoh
The President of the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU), Mohamed Sallieu Bangura has condemned the move by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to publicly shame teachers who were arrested over the weekend on allegations of examination malpractice.
On Saturday, ACC conducted a raid on Fatibu Technical Secondary School where they arrested three teachers including the Principal, for alleged examination malpractice. On Monday all four men were shamed in public when ACC paraded them at the Cotton Tree in the center of Freetown. They were handcuffed with placards bearing writings admitting their guilt. The move has provoked huge debate on how far the ACC can go in tackling corruption.
Bangura told Politico in a telephone interview that they were disappointed by the “parading” of teachers.
“SLTU condemns the act of parading teachers who were caught during examination malpractice. We condemn the act totally, because people who have stolen state money have not been paraded like this,” Bangura said.
He added: “This is not the law.”
Assistant Public Relations Officer, Morris Kanteh told Politico that the teachers were arrested on Saturday following a tipoff. He said were told that the students were camped in a ‘special room’ after the teachers had collected Le1million from each of them to help cheat in the ongoing Private West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.
Kanteh had hinted to Politico early on Monday that they would be parading the four teachers as part of a new approach by the anti-graft agency to tackle exam malpractice.
“As I speak now, there is an operation that will commence soon in which those who were caught will be publicly shamed out at Cotton Tree as a new strategy by ACC to end examination malpractice,” Kenteh said.
Public examination has come under huge scrutiny due to the pervasive nature of malpractices. The situation has become so serious that there have been reports of some desperate students indulging in violence against invigilators.
This is the first time accused people have been put on display for the public.
Despite the condemnation, Bangura said SLTU will not condole exams malpractice, noting that the umbrella body has professional standards.
“The SLTU is a reputable and professional organization; we do not condone any examination malpractice, but what I can tell you is that those who have been arrested allegedly doing examination malpractices are our members and we cannot denied the fact," he said.
“But if it is true that they have committed the crime and the law proves them guilty beyond reasonable doubt, then we cannot condone them.”
This is not the first-time teachers have been caught in exam malpractice. To deal with this, Bangura said teachers must understand their responsibility. He also called on the government to consider raising the salaries of teachers.
“Teachers must stay away from examination malpractice because it will not help the education system of the country, that is why as an organization we are cajoling the government to improve the condition of service of teachers,” Bangura said.
© 2019 Politico Online
