Recent audits found hundreds of “ghost students” enrolled in Colombian schools, reported officials Wednesday.
Colombian Minister of Education Maria Fernanda Campo told local media that a number of audits discovered corrupt officials that had invented “ghost students” in order to attain extra government funding.
In a range of methods used to falsely inflate numbers, the government was not notified when the number of registered students decreased, new students were registered twice, or non-existent students were added to the books.
The audits were enacted after education officials were accused of stealing up to $118 million from Colombia‘s education budget by lying about school numbers in 2011.
Hundreds of “missing” students were found to be enrolled in the education system, especially in Valle, Guajira, Magdalena.
Vice Inspector General Martha Isabel Castaneda said that false reporting of this nature is a serious social problem and assured disciplinary action will be taken against ministers of education, mayors, and governers.