Don’t pay service fees, teachers told

TEACHERS should not be paying fees to have their salaries processed, Education Department first secretary (financial services) Camillus Kanau says.
“It is wrong and must be discouraged,” he added.
Kanau urged teachers nationwide to report any officer in, both national and provincial, offices asking for inducements, charges and service fees to deal with matters on teachers’ salary matters.
He said there were processes in place in the department to deal with such officers.
He said a public notice had been released by the secretary’s office that demanding service fees and charges was tantamount to bribery and corruption.
Kanau also reminded teachers to always come forward with evidence when reporting such cases.
“We have asked teachers to provide copies of deposit slips if the transactions have been made manually and also statements if the transactions have been made electronically,” he said.
“This will help us to track down officers who are responsible so that we can report them to department secretary Dr Uke Kombra for disciplinary action.”
Kanau said regardless of the huge number of complaints from teachers, the department could not do much to help teachers without proof that payments had been made on the matter.
“If this is the case at the provincial level, then teachers must report the matter to their respective education advisers,” he said.
“But if it is at the national level, then teachers are urged to report the matter to this office with evidence.”