The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and MP for Ketu North Hon. James Klutse Avedzi, has expressed regret over the growing phenomenon of some people in Traditional Universities and Technical Universities who benefit from scholarships to study outside the country refusing to return and serve the country.
The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament ( PAC) made these remarks during a press briefing at Ho, the Volta Regional Capital where PAC held its Zonal Public Hearing to consider the Financial Report of the Auditor-General for the year ended 2023.
In furtherance, on the issue of the Technical Universities “ the challenge that we have seen over years which still remains, is on this sponsorship giving to Lectures who go outside to do their PHD, who are being sponsored by Government, train them and even pay them and expect them to come back to serve but they rather remain in their various countries of study without coming back” he pointed out.
Additionally, he said, “We have been asking management of the Universities to devise an effective guarantor system so that if the people don’t return, the guarantor can be made to refund the money”. He explained that previous Auditor’s reports made revelations where some Lecturers of these Universities who were beneficiaries of these scholarships refused to serve their bond adding that most of them don’t return to serve their motherland.
The Chairman also expressed worry over issues of unearned salaries by people who either have passed on or vacated their posts but their salaries not deleted on the payroll over time.
He said the Auditor report also detected a situation where a Lecturer at the Accra Technical University received double salary from KNUST for about thirteen months and warned that the situation constitutes a crime that will be dealt with.
The Committee has probed the Report of some District Assemblies, Technical Universities, Colleges of Education and Senior High Schools from four Regions including Volta Region, Oti Region, Greater Accra and Eastern.
However, the Entities that appeared before the PAC today include Koforidua Technical University, Accra Technical University as well as a number of Colleges of Education from the four Regions and Senior High Schools from Oti.
