Teachers overpaid by $9.9M

In 2014, over-payments totalled $6.2 million, of which $1.5 million was recovered. In 2015, teachers were overpaid by $9.5 million of which $4.3 million was recovered. The committee has since urged greater stringency by the Ministry of Education in its payments.

Overpayment has been identified as an ongoing problem of major concern in the Ministry.

In 2014, some 714 cases of overpayment totalling $6,247,727, of which $1,484,131 was recovered including recoveries relating to prior year overpayments.

In 2015, some 1,107 overpayments totalled $9,530,791 of which only $4,348,271 was recovered, stated the report.

“According to the Auditor General, as a result of overpayment, resources are spent on accounting, recovery, reporting and auditing as well. At times, emotional strain can be placed on the overpaid person involved in the recovery process.” The report blamed overpayment on delays caused by schools sending teacher details to the ministry’s district offices which then go to the ministry.

So by the time that happens, they could be paying someone who is on leave.

The ministry’s new human resources systems can minimize overpayments.

“It was explained that the Ministry has utilized technology which allowed certificates and applications for leave to be emailed to facilitate faster processing.

The ministry accepted that communication channels with the schools can be established so that information can be transferred faster and more accurately as a means to avoid overpayments from occurring.” The Ministry said it was guided by Financial Regulations Sections when dealing with overpayments, and that overpayments as recorded in the circulars from the school principals and school supervisors will be recovered.

“The ministry accepted that there was an existing issue but efforts are being made to put systems in place to reduce overpayments.” The PAC’s offered recommendations.

The ministry needs more stringent checks on its records so as to monitor overpayment occurrences, including monthly checks at its accounting department so overpayments can be detected early and remedied immediately.

The ministry must establish an overpayment register or if it already exists, must update and maintain it. Overpayments should be recovered within two months.

The amount and date of the overpayment should be recorded in the overpayment register and the person involved should be notified and arrangements made for the recovery of the funds. Also, to eliminate lag times between transferring of information from schools to the district offices and then the Ministry, the Committee endorsed the Ministry’s use of emails, phone calls and faxes to acquire information faster but felt strongly that a digital solution is not too challenging to implement and will ensure greater accuracy and precision