20 Jul 2015

50 'ghost' teachers cut from Solomons payroll

8:23 pm on 20 July 2015

The names of about 50 teachers in Solomon Islands have been removed from Ministry of Education files after a nationwide assessment found their jobs could not be verified.

Solomon islands school children in class.

Solomon islands school children in class. Photo: Supplied

Director of Teaching Services, Mattias Kutai, says some teachers had left their postings as far back as three years ago, but the ministry was still paying their salaries.

Mr Kutai says a lack of resources made it difficult to monitor teacher postings, especially in remote areas.

"We could have one or two teachers teaching in the provinces in some of the remote islands and we would assume that they have been teaching. But in some instances they have already transferred and work somewhere (else). So the education authorities might not have reported that to us."

Mattias Kutai says the ministry is currently working on a reform strategy to improve the monitoring of teachers.