“Ghost” teachers collecting salaries in Region 10 – report

The preliminary report of the Commission of Inquiry launched into the state of the education sector of Region 10 has revealed that there are several non-existent teachers collecting salaries from the Government.
Greater vigilance has therefore been urged at the level of the Regional Education Department.

“We were in the Berbice River, and we have some concerns about what is happening. We have seen pay sheets with names of teachers who, as far as the head teacher is concerned, do not exist…and (the regional education) department must monitor and know who the persons on the payroll are,” Commission Chairman Ed Caesar has informed.
He also said the commission has found that ‘ghost teachers’ are being transferred from ‘ghost schools’ and are being added to the payroll.
Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, informing that the issue is criminal, has said the findings would be turned over to the police for investigation.  “This is a police matter,” he said. “This is high fraud and it should be dealt with. And I think this is something beyond the Ministry of Education and requires the attention of people who are trained to investigate (such issues).”

The education department that presides over matters affecting Berbice riverine communities is managed by the regional administration of Region 10, according to a source from that department, who explained that education is administrated at a regional level, and therefore the administrators of Region 10 would be able to explain the instance of “ghost teachers”. Efforts to contact Region 10 Chairman Renis Morian have been unsuccessful.
The preliminary report of the CoI was handed over to the Education Minister on Friday, and the final report is expected to be handed over within the next two or three weeks. The CoI was launched in 2015 to determine what is lacking and to recommend measures that could be implemented to improve the education sector for persons countrywide.
There have been 98 consultations across the country, with presentations and submissions from all stakeholders.