-Following a verification exercise In Grand Kru County
By Jerromie S. Walters
Grand Kru County’s education authorities have uncovered a staggering 123 inactive or “ghost” employees in the school system, with 56 found to be deceased, retired, or having resigned—while still on payroll. The revelation comes after a sweeping verification exercise, prompting immediate action to replace absentee staff and address long-standing inefficiencies in teacher deployment.
“The Public is hereby informed that the office of the County Education Officer, in collaboration
with all District Education Officers in Grand Kru, conducted an onsite verification/ headcount
exercise for all MOE’S employees across the Eight (8) Education Districts After the verification
headcount exercise, it was established that 123 employees were found inactive or abandoned
duties,” an MOE release reveals.
In a move to sanitize its payroll, the Grand Kru County Education Office, in collaboration with district officers, conducted a headcount of all Ministry of Education employees across eight districts. The audit exposed 123 inactive staff, including 56 who were either dead, retired, or had left for better opportunities.
County Education Officer [Name, if available] confirmed that the 56 positions are now being filled by volunteer teachers, while 67 absent instructors have been given until June 1, 2025, to resume duties or face replacement.
The cleanup comes amid accusations of political bias, which officials vehemently deny. “Our goal is not to target individuals but to ensure those on payroll are actually teaching,” the office stated, acknowledging systemic payroll abuse that has left schools understaffed despite inflated salary expenditures.
Volunteer Teachers to Fill Gaps
Of 149 volunteer teachers profiled last year, 63 are slated for permanent employment. Combined with replacements for the 56 vacant posts, 118 volunteers will soon transition to full-time roles, leaving 31 awaiting placement.
“This means we have given them a one-month grace period to adjust In addition, of the 149 Volunteer teachers that were profiled last year, 63 are set to be employed soon. If the 56 teachers undergoing replacement are added to the 63 profiled
Volunteer teachers for employment, it means we will be having 118 Volunteer teachers nearing
employment.”
The office also disclosed that 23 in-service teachers —previously undocumented—are pursuing studies locally and abroad. While allowing them to continue, officials pledged stricter oversight of future study leave approvals.
“Our intent is to hygiene the payroll in order to ensure that those on the payroll are actually visible in the classroom. On the other hand, we have documented 23 in-service teachers some of whom are studying in
Liberia or out of Liberia. Though we didn’t meet documents from our predecessor that classified them as in-service teachers, we have decided to let them pursue their studies while we ensure that the proper procedures for in-service training are followed to the letter going forward.”
