Remove names of over 4, 029 “fake” teachers from payroll – FSWC

The Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), George Smith-Graham, has urged government to remove from the payroll, the 4, 029 teachers whose documents prove they are not at post.

According to him, this has become necessary because these teachers have failed to own up to prove they are at post.

In February, a coalition of teacher unions claimed government owes teachers in the country an estimated GHȼ61 million over a period of four years.

The unions, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers Association (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) charged they would stay out of the classroom if the government failed to pay back their money.

Reacting to their threat, Deputy Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson said the only way the government would make any payment would be after there has been a joint validation process to confirm the authenticity of documents submitted by the teachers.

In the course of the validation process, it was revealed over 6, 000 teachers were found to have issues with their documents resulting in the government withholding their salaries. However, 1, 971 teachers owned up to have their issues addressed.

Speaking to Joy News, Mr. Smith-Graham said: “If after all the messages they [4, 029 teachers] are not coming forward to date, we [FWSC] strongly believe they don’t exist and so we believe the names should be taken off”.

He said the earlier their names are taken off the payroll, the better it would be because they are on salary and are being paid at the end of every month.

If after their names are taken off and they show up, then they indeed exist, he added.