The College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has urged the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, to remove the Provost of Federal College of Education (Technical) Gusau, Zamfara State, Dr. Hauwa’u Gimbiya Mukhtar Abdulkarim, for allegedly forging her certificates.
 
President of the union, Dr. Smart Olugbeko, who stated this yesterday in Abuja, said COEASU finds it difficult to understand the provost’s continued stay in office after the Ministry of Education had asked her to vacate the position since last December.
   

He added: “The union finds it curious that the Federal Ministry of Education has condoned the woman’s stay in office in defiance of the resignation order dated 28th December 28, 2023, served her by the same ministry.”
   
The union insisted that relevant documents have indeed shown that Abdulkarim forged the documents that served as the basis for her appointment, stating: “It is with grave concern that the union brings to the fore the continued stay in office of Dr. Hauwa’u Gimbiya Mukhtar Abdulkarim who has been proven to have forged her promotion documents that ‘qualified’ her to be appointed as the Provost, Federal College of Education(Technical), Gusau, by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
 
“The ministry’s directive for her resignation was on the premise that she forged her letter of promotion for her to be qualified to be appointed the provost. 
 
“The union is shocked that six months after the directive, she has neither resigned nor vacated her office as she has continued to superintend over the institution – taking critical decisions as provost.”
  
COEASU said it is particularly worried that, as a female teacher-trainee tertiary institution, the ministry’s “obvious inaction on the matter, which has emboldened the woman to hang on to office portends grave implications on, not only the education of students but also their ethical training. 
 
“Besides, the act of giving authority to an individual who has been proven to all, the ministry and other stakeholders inclusive, to have forged her documents leading to the appointment poses a significant threat to the integrity and effectiveness of our educational system. Appointments within our educational institutions must be made based on merit, competency, and adherence to established qualifications criteria,” the union stated. 
   
While subtly threatening a possible strike over the imbroglio, the union added: “While decrying the lack of will by the Federal Ministry of Education to enforce its directive, we urge the Minister of Education to prevail on the appropriate officials to enforce the resignation order for her to vacate office without further delay to avoid a possible national industrial action.
 
“We trust that the minister will act swiftly and decisively to rectify this situation and uphold the integrity of the College of Education system.”