List of GES Directorates extorting money from Newly Recruited Teachers

Coalition of Newly Posted Teachers (CoNPT) are aggrieved and have petitioned Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa to investigate some alleged cases of extortions of their members at the various biometric registration centers in some GES District Directorates.

The biometric registration exercise is a process to get the credentials of all newly recruited teachers onto the payment system of the Controller and Accountant-Generals Department in order for them to receive their salaries. This is the second step the newly recruited teachers go through to receive their salaries after the release of the Staff IDs.

This exercise is free and comes with no charges however IPPD coordinators of some districts have allegedly teamed up with the officers in charge of the biometric registration to extort money from these new teachers before taking them through the process.

According to reports from credible sources and countersigned by leadership of the Coalition of Newly Posted Teachers (CoNPT) Akosua Rebecca Bawa (President) and Emmanuel Abugri (Secretary) the said money, ranging from GH¢10 to G¢100 depending on the district in focus.

According to the teachers, the alleged extorted is meant to cover the transportation cost of the biometric registration officers regardless of the fact that they are paid by the Government.

In extreme cases, some newly recruited teachers are threatened to be denied their introductory letters which are issued by IPPD coordinators leaving them with no other choice than to pay under distress.

Some named Directorates allegedly involved in this practice include;

1. Atwima Kwanwoma District in the Ashanti Region
2. Deboase District in the Western region
3. Wassa Amenfi West and
4.  Asunafo South District in the Ahafo region.

At the Kumasi and Koforidua GNAT Halls, newly posted teachers were made to pay GH¢10 each whilst those in Asunafo South were charged GH¢50.

In Wa, the new teachers paid an amount of  GH¢100 to enable them do their biometric registration.

According to the Coalition of Newly Posted Teachers (CoNPT), it’s disheartening for such an act to be happening to teachers who haven’t been paid for almost eight (8) months at post. 

Ghana Education Service (GES) on 21st January, 2022 released posting of trained teachers from the forty-six (46) Accredited Public Colleges of Education to Basic Schools across the country.

According to available records, the appointment of this year’s College of Education teachers into the Service was effective 1st February, 2022. About eight (8) months after appointment, some of these teachers haven’t received their Staff IDs.

Meanwhile, a few who have received their Staff IDs were “slapped in the face” with a compulsory payment before being allowed to do biometric registration for payment of salaries.

Read below the letter from the Coalition of Newly Posted Teachers (CoNPT) confirming the alleged practice of corruption. 

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh