Accra: The Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education are under scrutiny for issues related to unearned salaries and responsibility allowances. According to the 2024 Auditor-General's report, some head teachers have been found validating deceased staff members and collecting their salaries. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has instructed these head teachers to refund the monies within 30 days.
According to Ghana News Agency, this revelation emerged during a Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee session, where Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Minister of Education, led a team from the Ministry to address the committee. The Auditor-General's report highlighted several financial irregularities, including inadequate oversight and weak internal controls, which facilitated these infractions. As a result, the PAC has mandated the involved head teachers to repay the misappropriated funds within 30 days.
Mr. Samuel Atta Mills, Ranking Member on the Committee and MP for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem, expressed his astonishment at the recurrent issue of unearned salaries within the Ministry. Having served on the PAC for three terms, Mr. Atta Mills was visibly frustrated, questioning the Ministry's ability to prevent such infractions and calling for the sanctioning of supervising officers who failed to address the issue.
Dr. Clement Abas Apaak assured the committee that the Ministry would implement measures to tackle the problem. He suggested that dishonesty and collusion among Ministry and GES staff contributed to the ongoing infractions and vowed to expose those involved in corrupt practices.
The GES clarified that responsibility allowances are designated for certain staff categories, such as deputy directors, assistant directors, and principal superintendents. Teaching staff eligible for these allowances include school heads, headmasters/headmistresses, and department heads. Non-teaching staff, including principal accountants, internal auditors, and administrative officers, are also eligible.
In response to the situation, the government has launched a nationwide payroll audit to identify and eliminate ghost workers. Earlier this year, the Controller and Accountant-General's Department announced the termination of salaries for tens of thousands of inactive or separated government employees and is actively working to recover unearned salaries resulting from wrongful validations.
