Education Ministry spent GH₵2 million on COVID-19 tracker app which remains unused

The Ministry of Education in Ghana spent GH₵2 million on a COVID-19 Tracker App during the peak of the pandemic in October 2021. However, a recent audit report by the Auditor General has revealed that the app was never utilized.

The purpose of the app was to track COVID-19 cases in junior and senior high schools across the country. It was developed under the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP), a five-year initiative aimed at improving the quality of education in low-performing schools and strengthening accountability in the education sector.

GALOP received funding from the World Bank, the Department for International Development (DFID), and the Global Partnerships for Education (GPE).

Despite the creation and development of the app, it was never deployed or used. An audit report by the Ghana Audit Service in June 2022 highlighted that the non-utilization of the app and other information technology infrastructure developed during the pandemic could result in a waste of government resources.

The report also stated that IT infrastructure worth GH₵16 million procured under GALOP remained idle due to insufficient collaboration between the procuring authorities and the implementing institution.

In an attempt to obtain information about the Ministry of Education’s decision to develop their own app when a government-created app already existed, The Fourth Estate, an independent news outlet, submitted a request under the Right to Information (RTI) law in August 2022.

The request sought details about the app’s launch, cost, deployment in schools, and the educational institutions where it was used to record COVID-19 cases. The Ministry of Education failed to respond to the request within the required timeframe, leading to an appeal and subsequent petition to the RTI Commission.

After months of non-compliance by the Ministry of Education, the RTI Commission ruled to fine the ministry GH₵50,000 for its failure to respond and make decisions on the requests. The Commission emphasized that the ministry’s actions were in violation of the right to access information guaranteed under the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

Despite the Commission’s ruling, the Ministry of Education has yet to provide the requested information to The Fourth Estate, causing further delay and raising concerns about transparency and accountability within the ministry.

The situation highlights the need for effective collaboration, timely deployment of resources, and adherence to the principles of transparency and accountability in government initiatives. The Fourth Estate continues to pursue the release of the requested information, urging the Ministry of Education to fulfill its obligations under the RTI law.

Source: Coverghana.com.gh