OSP Uncovers Massive GES Fraud Involving Fake Schools and Ghost Appointments

OSP uncovers widespread GES corruption involving fake schools and appointments.

OSP Exposes Deep-Rooted Corruption in Education Sector: Fake Schools, Ghost Workers, and Forged Appointments Revealed

The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has exposed alarming levels of corruption within the Ghana Education Service (GES), uncovering fabricated schools, fake appointment letters, and the validation of ghost workers drawing salaries from the state.

At the West Africa Regional Anti-Corruption Policy Dialogue held in Accra on Monday, June 2, 2025, the Special Prosecutor, Mr. Kissi Agyebeng, raised the issue while calling for increased collaboration between institutional leaders and anti-corruption agencies to stem the tide of such practices.

Addressing dignitaries at the event, including the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, and his counterpart from the Ghana Health Service, Professor Samuel Kaba, Mr. Agyebeng disclosed that the OSP is currently investigating several alarming trends undermining the integrity of the public sector.

“In the education sector, we’re discovering disturbing schemes where individuals are drawing salaries for schools that exist only on paper. There are also widespread instances of people moving around with forged appointment letters bearing the Director-General’s signature, collecting money in exchange for fake postings,” he revealed.

He warned that even top officials could become unsuspecting targets of these forgeries. “If this hasn't happened to you yet, it may soon. I regret having to mention this publicly before notifying you privately,” Mr. Agyebeng told the Director-Generals present.

In a more shocking revelation, the Special Prosecutor noted that his office had come across cases of so-called “health teachers” validating non-existent individuals for salary payments.

He also pointed to a recent case in the High Court in Tamale, where six individuals entered guilty pleas in a plea bargain with the OSP. The state was able to recover GH₵106,000 through that process.

However, he stressed that the financial figures were less important than the broader implications. “The bigger issue is how corruption is saturating our systems, leaving the entire country vulnerable to abuse from within,” he stated.


Background of the Case

A joint probe by the OSP and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) previously uncovered that GH₵2.85 million in salaries had been wrongly paid to “ghost names”, persons who are deceased, retired, missing, or simply no longer in service. This was discovered primarily in the Northern Region.

Further investigations revealed that unauthorised personnel had been validating payrolls in educational institutions under GES and even at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. One shocking case involved a completely non-existent school in the Kumbungu District, which nonetheless had staff drawing regular monthly salaries.

Thanks to the OSP’s intervention and the subsequent cleanup of the government payroll system, the state saved GH₵34.2 million during the 2024 financial year.

The revelations have intensified calls for stronger monitoring and accountability systems across all government departments especially in education and healthcare, which continue to suffer from systematic abuse.



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