Old students and staff of some pre-tertiary institutions owed the schools GH¢121,998,406.17 in 2021, the Auditor-General has stated. 

According to the report, debts owed by students accounted for 61% of the total debt stock.

The report added discrepancy followed a directive by the Ghana Education Service (GES), the management of the institutions explained. 

According to them, they were asked not to expel students for non-payment of fees.

These debts totalled GH¢74,732,574.45 representing 61.26 per cent of the total debtors.

“Retrieval of the debts has therefore become a challenge to the institutions,” the report noted.

The Auditor General has thus asked the heads of the institutions to consult the GES for the necessary action.

“We also recommended that the institutions should vigorously pursue recovery of the staff and other debtors for the avoidance of bad debts which could lead to losses.”

The report also noted that 752 out of the 806 audited institutions submitted their financial statements for audit as required by Section 80(1) of the Public Financial Management (PFM) Act, 2016 (Act 921).