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The Mayor of Ngoma District has issued a stern warning to school headmasters who inflate school registers with non-existent students and charge high fees on students sponsored by charity organisations. The authorities would punish anyone found guilty.

The education ministry has failed to take action against teachers and other education officers identified as guilty of misconduct by various investigations and commissions over the years. Affairs between schoolgirls and teachers, and schools misusing equipment given to them to improve the quality of education are among the countless problems that had emerged from investigations.

Lawmakers in Ondo State have approved a jail term of between three and four years or a fine for principals who engage in examination malpractices in public schools. Any candidate who leaves an examination hall with intent to cheat or secure any unfair advantage for himself risk to pay a fine and/or three years imprisonment.

The cost of running schools could go down by as much as 40% if corruption is eradicated. Moreover, if the head teacher's lifestyle is beyond what is expected of his station, blow the whistle. This is bound to raise cries of witch-hunting, but it is practised effectively in the Scandinavian countries, which are the least corrupt in the world.

An inspection of more than 100,000 schools has found that students have been charged 853 million yuan in illegal fees last year, Education Minister Zhou Ji said yesterday. He said 395 headmasters were among the 2,448 people fired or punished for imposing the fees. About 639 million yuan had been returned to parents after the inspections. Illegal charges for everything from school uniforms to field trips are rampant in many areas, prompting the government to launch a far-reaching clean-up campaign.