Jerreh Sanyang, deputy permanent secretary at MoBSE in giving details of the School Improvement Grant (SIG) said the Ministry of Finance has a pending balance they need to pay to MoBSE for both the third term of the last academic year and first term of this year.
“The pending SIG balance for third and first terms is equivalent to fifty million, eight hundred and fifty two thousand eight hundred and forty six dalasi,” he said.
“When the teachers union threaten to go on strike we engage the ministry of finance and 73 million dalasi was paid. It covered part of the third term but there is a pending balance of fourteen million, five hundred and thirty two thousand one hundred and forty six dalasi for the third term,” he added.
“What we have requested for the first term is sixty one million, three hundred and twenty thousand seven hundred dalasi. Recently we received a cash allocation notice that twenty five million, which was given against the sixty one million we requested,” he explained.
Mr Sanyang further stated that mostly when they request from finance they only give them what they think is within the budget and not what is on the data.
Mr Sanyang also dilated that their monthly requirement for subvention is sixty one million, six hundred and seventy five thousand and ninety dalasi. “Multiplying that by twelve you will realize that we have a short fall.”
“As we speak, based on the monthly requirement, we are only able to pay up to October. November and December will not be paid because so far our budget balance is thirty seven million seventy eight thousand nine hundred and thirteen dalasi. This means we cannot pay beyond October as the monthly requirement is 61M,” he also said.
Hon Bakary K. Badjie, Member for Foni Bintang Karanai who is the deputy chair for the committee said MoBSE should be able to make the ministry of finance understand that the population is growing by the day and that it is growing through young people who are enrolled in schools. “If you are requesting for 61 million and you are only given 25 million that is a serious handicap in schools,” he flagged.
He added “currently school has resumed and the balance for third and first terms is still pending. This could disturb the performance of schools.”
