PROBE - The Ministry of Education (Mineduc) is investigating both primary and secondary schools countrywide over alleged ‘ghost’ teachers on their pay-rolls, sources have disclosed. Ghosts in this case refer to non-existent teachers presumed to be teaching and are paid salaries. Ministry officials, the source said, are now carrying out a head count of pupils, students and teachers to ascertain whether their number sent to the ministry exists on the ground. “The ministry is doing this to find out if the money we give schools marches with the figures they gave us,” a ministry official who is on the probe team said on condition of anonymity. The government spends over Frw5, 000 per pupil annually in primary schools, an official said. That means if a school inflates the number of its pupils, it can cheat the government by taking away the excess funds, the official explained. Asked whether the investigators had so far found ‘ghosts’ on the schools’ payrolls, the official declined to comment, saying the report will be first sent to the education minister for an immediate action. “What I can tell you is that any school found to have inflated pupils or teachers to cheat government will be punished,” he said on Friday. He also said the data from schools will help the ministry plan for the schools and students from a knowledgeable point of view. The probe started August 23 and is expected to conclude before the end of October, he disclosed further. The move is aimed at promoting transparency in the education system, he added. He said the probe team also wants to find out whether some schools in the districts recruited unqualified teachers. The head count exercise also involves listing teachers’ names, salary codes, school names and the payroll numbers. Teachers with forged academic transcripts will be sacked, he said. Education Minister, Dr Jeanne d’ Arc Mujawamariya could not be reached for comment yesterday. The latest probe into the schools’ activities comes months after the Minister of Public Service, Skills Development and Labour, Prof. Manasseh Nshuti announced that the government had started carrying out census of its employees to get rid of suspected ‘ghost’ workers. Ends
