The Ministry of Education is facing scrutiny after auditors uncovered discrepancies involving teacher trainee allowances and questionable payment requests that could have cost the state hundreds of millions of cedis.
Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem disclosed the findings while presenting a report in Parliament on March 10, 2026, detailing alleged irregularities within Ghana’s public financial management system.
According to Thomas Nyarko Ampem, the Ministry of Education reported unpaid teacher trainee allowances amounting to GHS 160 million under the supervision of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission.
However, when auditors engaged the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission to verify the claim, the agency confirmed that no outstanding arrears existed as of December 2024.
The Deputy Minister noted that the audit prevented a potential loss of more than GHS 159 million in public funds.
Further irregularities were discovered in payment records involving donor-supported funds. Thomas Nyarko Ampem explained that GHS 6.1 million appeared on the Bank Transfer Advices schedule of the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, even though the same amount had already been paid by a donor partner.
He said the entry created the risk of double payment, exposing weaknesses in financial coordination between donor funding records and government accounting systems.
Thomas Nyarko Ampem warned that gaps in financial controls create opportunities for wrongful payments and potential loss of taxpayer funds.
