In the media

Ghana's Education Minister tasked the newly inaugurated Governing Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG), to actively combat corruption. The Council was urged to expose financial irregularities like over-invoicing and under-invoicing. Emphasizing transparency, accountability, and integrity, the Minister called upon accountants to enforce professional standards and lead national discussions on financial misconduct.

A Corruption Risk Assessment report conducted in six districts within the education sector has recommended the full decentralization of the payroll management system to reduce corruption risks. The report suggests that decentralization would ensure that validation and enlistment in the Ghana Education Service (GES) begin and end at the district level. Findings indicate that newly recruited teachers have been paying bribes to fast-track their payroll processing or issuing duty letters with incorrect dates.

A survey conducted by Transparency International in Ghana, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda covered different actors in the education system. The reports highlight the lack of budget information in schools and call for strengthened regulation and accountability, as well as greater involvement of school communities and parents. 

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has been successfully running school feeding programmes around the world for years. But in Ghana an independent audit recently revealed that the programme is mired in corruption. By May 2008, 477,714 pupils in 987 schools accross Ghana were benefiting from the programme and according to the Local Government Ministry, with an average of a 40 percent increase in primary school enrolment since the programme was introduced. But an independent school feeding motoring report said that enrolment in 14 selected schools nationwide increased only by 21 per cent between the 2005/2006 and 2006/2007 academic year.