OITA -- The Oita Prefectural Board of Education (BoE) will investigate a corruption scandal linked to the hiring of teachers and fire any educators found to have passed exams illicitly, it has emerged.

Senior BoE member Katsuyoshi Eto, 52 -- now under arrest for taking bribes -- is believed to have been asked to hire about 40 people, roughly half of the number who passed the elementary school teaching exams during fiscal 2007 and 2008. Sources close to the investigation say that at least a dozen or so teachers are believed to are believed to have passed exams illicitly.

Education board officials said that when past exam data that has been seized by police is returned and analyzed, they will offer jobs to any found to have missed out on a position because of the scandal. School workers who were hired illicitly will be fired, and any staff found to have been unfairly promoted to administrative positions will be subject to disciplinary action.

In addition, the board is also planning reform in education administration through measures including the establishment of a project team to prevent similar scandals in the future.

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