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Education Ministry to take aggressive measures against absconding teachers

Jul 06, 2009 News

In its efforts to recoup monies that were overpaid to teachers over the years, the Ministry of Education is prepared to implement aggressive measures which are likely to see the names of some be published in the newspaper.

This is according to Education Minister, Shaik Baksh, who was at the time responding to reports carried in sections of the media, in relation to the 2007 Auditor General’s Report.

The Minister pointed out that since the release of the report, several systems have been put in place to remedy some of the defects in the systems that were highlighted by the AG.

According to him, the overpayment of teachers as was cited in the report is a matter that is being addressed with much urgency by the Ministry. “We have cases when at the commencement of schools after vacation period where teachers draw their pay before the end of the month and some resign, some go out of the country and some just disappear.”

Baksh pointed out that when such situations occur, the Ministry is left with the problem of trying to recoup the money for the days that teachers were overpaid.

So far, the Ministry’s efforts have seen it being able to recoup about $6M that was duly noted in the AG Report, the Minister said.

He, however, noted the Ministry will go after teachers in a more aggressive way.

“We will be writing the schools and writing to these teachers if they have known addresses and we will even publish their names so that we can recoup the funds,” the Minister said, even as he noted that systems are now in place to ensure this does not happen in the future.

Moreover, he disclosed that the Ministry will be holding different levels of officers accountable, from the head teacher to the Regional Education Officers, when teachers engage in this unacceptable behaviour.

“So they have to signal very early so that we can stop the payment of salaries. We have worked out with the banks that if a salary is already paid into the bank they will refund the salaries to us at our request.”

The Minister has, however, lamented the fact that when the AG Report is presented, Government Ministries do not have an opportunity to defend their position to the media.

“The media picks up the report and that is it. Members of the public get the impression that there is a big fraud or financial mismanagement. We only

have to go before the Public Accounts committee of parliament and explain and then they would deem whether the explanation is satisfactory or not,” the Minister opined.

In the AG Report in question, it was stated that the sum of $32M was over-paid to a contractor, but according to Baksh, the Ministry was never responsible for the execution of such a project.

He explained that the fact of the matter is that “we have persistently requested of the AG not to list that under the Ministry of Education because that project was under the Simap Agency at that time and not under the Ministry.” According to Baksh, the Ministry was only tied to the project because it had rendered support by providing supplementary funding to help build the dormitory at President’s College.

The Minister related that it is his understanding that the contractor has since been taken before the court by the agency that was involved.

Another issue that was addressed in the AG Report is that of an account with the sum of $78.2M dating back to 1996, which according to the Minister has to be reconciled before it can be closed.

He noted though that it was since 1996 the Ministry had recruited a person to reconcile that account, adding that there have been some difficulties in this regard, given the account’s historical background.

Baksh has disclosed that it is anticipated that the process will be completed shortly, thus enabling the Ministry to write to the Secretary of the Treasury to formally have the account closed.

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