IT HAS now come to light that over an eight-year period the Ministry of Education has overpaid specialist teachers by some $750 million. This is a sum of such magnitude that it cannot be the result of a minor slip-up or oversight.
On the part of the Ministry it reeks of gross negligence and on the part of the teachers it is difficult to accept that they were not aware of the overpayment but decided to do nothing about it.
Usually, a salary is an amount contracted and agreed between two parties as payment for services rendered. Teachers, as professionals, would be presumed to know what their monthly pay should be and if they were short-paid they would be the first to bring this underpayment to the attention of the authorities. The only other possible scenario is that teachers do not know what they should be paid and blindly accept whatever the Ministry hands out.
This latter assumption, as unflattering as it may be to the intelligence of teachers, is the only ethical basis on which they could refuse to make restitution; and the Ministry can demand such restitution unless barred by the statute of limitations or some form of laches; i.e. a delay in performing a legal duty.
On the other hand, if the teachers knew they were being overpaid and decided to keep silent, they would have no moral or legal standing in the matter; although the JTA in reversing an initial decision to enter some form of restitution says it is acting on legal advice.
The Government, of course, might decide to waive restitution on compassionate grounds since some of the teachers involved are now retired and others have made commitments based on the windfall they received.
This is the position taken by the Opposition and we agree with Senator Bruce Golding that the problem should be submitted to Cabinet for a final determination. Given the ethical and political dynamics involved what Cabinet decides will send an important message to the nation about responsibility and transparency.
Ethical considerations apart, what is obvious is that the Ministry and its responsible financial officers have treated taxpayers money in an appallingly negligent way. Heads should roll.
