The Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education are facing scrutiny over unearned salaries and responsibility allowances.

According to the 2024 Auditor-General's report, some head teachers validated staff who had died and collected their salaries.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed these head teachers to refund the monies within 30 days.

This came to light when Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Minister of Education, led a team from the Ministry to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament sitting on Friday, August 22.

The Auditor-General's report revealed that some senior staff of the Ministry of Education and GES received unearned salaries, with head teachers validating staff who had passed away.

The report also highlighted financial irregularities, including poor oversight and weak internal controls, which enabled those infractions.

The PAC has ordered head teachers involved in these irregularities to refund the monies within 30 days.

Mr Samuel Atta Mills, the Ranking Member on the Committee and MP for Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem, was amazed how the issue of unearned salaries kept rearing its ugly head with the Ministry every year.

Mr Atta Mills who had served as a member of PAC for three terms, exclaimed: "Awurade nyankopon," to wit "My God...GES, this is a problem ooo...Who is keeping an eye on this, to stop these infractions?"

The legislator was extremely flabbergasted that the Education Ministry and the GES had overseen those financial irregularities on a yearly basis and demanded that the supervising officers who were supposed to stop this should be sanctioned.

Dr Clement Abas Apaak, the Deputy Minister of Education and Builsa South MP, gave the assurance that the Ministry would put measures in place to rectify the challenge.

The Deputy Minister was of the belief that there was dishonesty and collusion among staff of the Controller and Accountant General's Department and GES, hence the continuous occurrence of the infractions and promised to expose those involved in such corrupt deals.

According to the GES, responsibility allowances are paid to specific categories of staff, including deputy directors, assistant directors, and principal superintendents.

Responsibilities that attract allowances among teaching staff include school heads, headmasters/headmistresses, and heads of departments.

Non-teaching staff eligible for responsibility allowances include principal accountants, internal auditors, and administrative officers.

The government has initiated a nationwide payroll audit to identify and remove ghost workers from the payroll.

The Controller and Accountant-General's Department, earlier this year, announced the termination of salaries for tens of thousands of inactive or separated government employees and is working to recover unearned salaries paid due to wrongful validation.