THE EASTERN Cape government paid out R614-million to educate “ghost” learners in its last financial year.
This was revealed when outgoing auditorgeneral (AG) Terence Nombembe released an Eastern Cape audit report last week.
The education department’s investigation, conducted early this year by StatsSA, revealed there were more than 100 000 “ghost” learners in public schools throughout the province.
Nombembe said the R614-million error resulted in a substantial increase in the province’s fruitless and wasteful expenditure, which amounted to R58-million in 2011-12.
He said the payments were mainly in transfers to section 21 schools – public schools whose finances are managed by the school, “where the number of learners for which subsidies were paid differed from the actual number of learners at these schools”.
Education MEC Mandla Makupula said: “This is true. The learner figures we had were not credible and that is why we contracted Statistics SA (StatsSA) to do the verification.”
However, education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said his department did not know where the AG got to the figure from.
“We have written to the office of the auditorgeneral in the province requesting an explanation,” said Mtima.
Nombembe said: “The department did not have adequate controls in place to ensure that accurate learner numbers, based on verified enrolment figures, formed the basis of transfers to schools. Learners numbers have been exaggerated, resulting in overpayment to schools.”
In May the department began work on a multimillion-rand project to rid the education department of “ghost” schools, teachers and pupils.
“The SG has just received the report from StatsSA and the department still has to fully study the report before we can comment about it or its contents,” Mtima said.
Education superintendent-general Mthunywa Ngonzo would not comment on the AG’s report saying: “I can’t talk on a report I do not have in front of me. The StatsSA report is not yet finalised.”
On Tuesday Ngonzo met StatsSA officials to discuss the learner verification report which will indicate where the 100 000 “ghost” learners are distributed.
While “ghost” learners are often a case of principals hoping to inflate their budgets, some inflate pupil numbers in the hope of keeping their school open.
Early this year the department announced that up to half of the province’s 5 800 schools could be closed as pupil numbers fall.
The provincial department’s 2013 review, referred to as a Profile Snap Survey, showed 50% of schools were ranked as small, with fewer than 100 pupils and some with fewer than 50. —
Bhisho wastes R614-million on ‘ghost’ pupils
This was revealed when outgoing auditorgeneral (AG) Terence Nombembe released an Eastern Cape audit report last week.
The education department’s investigation, conducted early this year by StatsSA, revealed there were more than 100 000 “ghost” learners in public schools throughout the province.
Nombembe said the R614-million error resulted in a substantial increase in the province’s fruitless and wasteful expenditure, which amounted to R58-million in 2011-12.
He said the payments were mainly in transfers to section 21 schools – public schools whose finances are managed by the school, “where the number of learners for which subsidies were paid differed from the actual number of learners at these schools”.
Education MEC Mandla Makupula said: “This is true. The learner figures we had were not credible and that is why we contracted Statistics SA (StatsSA) to do the verification.”
However, education department spokesman Malibongwe Mtima said his department did not know where the AG got to the figure from.
“We have written to the office of the auditorgeneral in the province requesting an explanation,” said Mtima.
Nombembe said: “The department did not have adequate controls in place to ensure that accurate learner numbers, based on verified enrolment figures, formed the basis of transfers to schools. Learners numbers have been exaggerated, resulting in overpayment to schools.”
In May the department began work on a multimillion-rand project to rid the education department of “ghost” schools, teachers and pupils.
“The SG has just received the report from StatsSA and the department still has to fully study the report before we can comment about it or its contents,” Mtima said.
Education superintendent-general Mthunywa Ngonzo would not comment on the AG’s report saying: “I can’t talk on a report I do not have in front of me. The StatsSA report is not yet finalised.”
On Tuesday Ngonzo met StatsSA officials to discuss the learner verification report which will indicate where the 100 000 “ghost” learners are distributed.
While “ghost” learners are often a case of principals hoping to inflate their budgets, some inflate pupil numbers in the hope of keeping their school open.
Early this year the department announced that up to half of the province’s 5 800 schools could be closed as pupil numbers fall.
The provincial department’s 2013 review, referred to as a Profile Snap Survey, showed 50% of schools were ranked as small, with fewer than 100 pupils and some with fewer than 50. —
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