The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has ordered the immediate return of school mattresses improperly taken by teachers and students at Senior High Schools (SHS) across the country.

This follows alarming findings in the Auditor-General’s report on Ghana’s Pre-University Educational Institutions for the 2023 fiscal year.

The directive came during a PAC meeting in Sunyani, where the report cited Sefwi Wiawso Secondary Technical School as a key offender, with 25 individuals, including teachers and students, allegedly removing school mattresses without permission.

PAC has called for the school's management to be held accountable for the incident.

Responding to the committee’s concerns, the school's headmaster, Mr. Patrick Kwan, stated that efforts are underway to retrieve the mattresses and address the misconduct.

Further revelations from the PAC session highlighted discrepancies in the birth records of two chief cooks at Sefwi Wiawso SHS.

While their Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) records show their birth year as 1962, Ghana Education Service (GES) documents list their birth years as 1974 and 1977.

Headmaster Mr. Obeng Nyamekye disclosed that both cooks have applied for early retirement due to health concerns, which complicates the situation around their conflicting records.