Fraud all over disbursement & utilisation of Capitation Grant

A survey by the Centre for Democratic Development, Ghana (CDD-Ghana) has seriously indicted officials of the Ghana Education Service (GES), especially head teachers, for leaks in the disbursement and utilisation of the Capitation Grant, thereby defeating the purpose for which the grant was introduced. The survey exposed the deliberate inflation of enrolment figures by the said officials and delays in the release of the funds, some as late as three years, with an average misappropriation of GH¢600 per school in a year. Presenting the report in Accra yesterday, Mr Daniel Armah-Attoh, one of the researchers, did not drop any names but suggested that the spending pattern of the grant must be evaluated to determine whether it was conducive to improving education, as anticipated by the policy. He also asked that the relationship between the allocation, equity and improved quality outcomes in the educational sector must be assessed. The researchers suggested that the fixed amount of Capitation Grant per pupil per year must be reconsidered and that equity and need factors should be the basis for calculation because schools with huge populations would have more and would be able to meet basic essentials better than those with a smaller population of pupils, thereby leading to a widening of the social inequalities gap. The findings, which were contained in a report dubbed: “Public Expenditure Tracking Survey in Ghana: Tracking Capitation Grant in Public Primary Schools for the 2008 and 2009 academic year”, noted that because of the discrepancies in enrolment figures from the various quarters, there was the likelihood of the Ministry of Finance releasing funds for “ghost pupils”, with more going into the wrong hands. Explaining the discrepancies further, Mr Armah-Attoh said figures from head teachers showed that enrolment in schools increased by 45 per cent between the 2005/2006 and the 2008/2009 academic years. However, figures from district directors of education for the same period indicate an increase of 13 per cent. “We also found that GES enrolment figures for the survey districts were higher than those provided by district education officers by 32 per cent in 2005/06, 33 per cent in 2006/07, 35 per cent in 2007/08 and 34 per cent in 2008/09,” he said, adding that the inconsistencies in enrolment figures should be worrying because they gave room for corruption. Mr Armah-Attoh added that generally, majority of the district directors and head teachers received the Capitation Grant for the 2008/09 academic year in the middle, close to the end or at the end of the academic year and those were confirmed by the financial records of the head teachers. He said some of the payments that had been in arrears since 2006 had been paid in May, June and July 2009. He indicated that comparisons of the financial records of the district directors and those of the head teachers also confirmed leaks in the system and that at least 60 per cent of the schools surveyed experienced shortage averaging approximately GH¢600. Explaining the trends, Mr Armah-Attoh noted that apart from what could be attributed to corrupt practices, some head teachers whose school populations were small and were sited far away from the disbursement centres always received smaller amounts and, therefore, had to spend a chunk of the amount on transportation. On the payment of other levies, he said despite the Capitation Grant, half of the head teachers admitted that parents still paid other levies and fees. Forty seven per cent of teachers expressed similar views and most pupils and their parents agreed that they also paid levies and fees. “Not surprisingly, majority of the stakeholders (77 per cent of head teachers, 65 per cent of teachers and 52 per cent of PTA executives) believed that parents and guardians should pay some levies, irrespective of the Capitation Grant, to guarantee their interest in the education of their wards. “In contrast, 73 per cent of parents think that school authorities have no business asking them to pay any form of fees,” he added. Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service, Paul Krampah, told Joy News that the government does not owe any arrears so far as the Capitation Grant is concerned. He said even though the scheme had problem with disbursement, it has been rectified. “Right now the disbursement from the government is on timely basis.” He however said the GES would have a critical look at the report and possibly streamline its activities to correct the lapses. Source: Myjoyonline.com/Daily Graphic/Ghana