It is the “Human Resources” service of the Mandritsara Cisco that collects this money, without any supporting document, receipt or signature. To constitute his or her file, a teacher must pay from MGA 15 000 to MGA 20 00à, in addition to what he or she has paid for all the other preparations already made. Three officials in this service are in charge of the teachers’ files and deduct these illegal fees. A teacher trainer at the Regional Center of the National Institute of Pedagogical Training (Centre Régional de l’Institut National de Formation Pédagogique – CRINFP) of Mandritsara who chose to remain anonymous explains : “This is a way of acting that I have never seen done! The officials are asking for a lot of money, while as far as I know they are only doing the work for which they are already paid by the State. The teachers do not dare to protest out of fear and give in to illegal actions”.
The Mandritsara CISCO building and its banner advocating transparency
Mandritsara is the largest of the seven districts of the Sofia region. It is located 185 km from Antsohihy, the capital of the region. About 80% of Mandritsara’s civil servants are teachers: in total, there are about 3,700 civil servant teachers and FRAM teachers (paid by students’ parents), spread over 32 administrative pedagogical zones.
“Without subsidies from the State and because of the remoteness, teachers are asked to pay to prepare the papers”, according to Mandritsara’s Cisco head, Indriantsifera Radison Zaralahy. The State subsidies have stopped since 2010. The Cisco provides for the functioning, but it has no particular income because all the services it provides are supposed to be free. Moreover, the Cisco Chief of Mandritsara explains that the allowance and the State’ support for mission expenses do not come on time.
“In Mandritsara, the official in charge of the file service no longer relies on this allowance coming from the State because it is too slow to be released, with several months of delay. For every mission, the civil servant demands in advance to be paid the allowance and the travel, food and hotel expenses. As the Mandritsara Cisco does not have any funds, this is, in my opinion, the reason why this money is requested from the teachers who have files to constitute”.
The Cisco Chief believes that “sending a missionary to Antsohihy and Antananarivo has accelerated the processing of files. The requests were answered quickly. For Indriantsifera RadisonZaralahy, “This way of doing things has become a habit for the teachers. However, I don’t know who set the amount at MGA 15,000 up to 20,000”.
The missionaries are none other than the officials
The three officials of the “Human Resources” section of the Mandritsara Cisco rotate to carry out missions outside the region and bring the teachers’ files. Denis Razarafeno, Chief of the ZAP of Antsirabe’s rural commune, explains that this is due to the large number of teachers in Mandritsara : “The people in charge of the files within Cisco arrange among themselves to go to Antsohihy or Antananarivo to process the teachers’ files. They say the road is long and the files need to be followed very closely to be dealt with. For this reason, they continue to this day to request money from the teachers.”
They say the road is long and the files need to be followed very closely to be dealt with.
Denis Razarafeno, Chief of the ZAP of Antsirabe’s rural commune
The fee for a file for Antsohihy is MGA 15,000, compared to MGA 20,000 for Antananarivo, with neither notes nor displays. Only when a teacher wants to create a file and needs more information are the procedures clarified. Approximately one hundred files are received each month. Claims for illicit payments to teachers began in 2016 and only those who paid the amount are eligible for the service. Those who have the ability to handle their own cases can do so themselves.
Other opportunities for money grabbing…
Several files are processed at the Mandritsara Cisco: retirement, teacher contract renewal, promotion request, etc. A week is needed and a minimum of MGA 60,000 is required for each file. ” It is a heavy cost for us. We pay all the money to the “Human Resources” service, where the use of each material is also charged. Our file is not taken care of if we do not respect these instructions given by those officials” , according to a teacher from an EPP in Antsirabe, Mandritsara district, who also chose to remain anonymous.
In order to get his or her cash voucher, the teacher whose salary is not transferred to the bank must also pay MGA 500 to the Cisco salary officer. This payment, which has been applied since 2010, is not mentioned in any memo or posting and no receipt is issued.
“I asked about the reasons for this payment, and I was told it was just a tacit rule to which all teachers in Mandritsara are accustomed,” a teacher from Andilana EPP, located in the Antsôha Mandritsara rural commune, said. “Although the amount is small, it is difficult for us to pay it. I have the impression that this payment is pocketed directly by the person in charge and has no impact on the processing speed of the files. In fact, I still receive my salary even if I don’t pay.”
Another teacher-trainer at the Mandritsara CRINFP emphasized that the monthly deduction of MGA 500 had no impact on processing the files. “It doesn’t change anything because we still receive our salary at the end of each month, whereas we were expecting to receive it between the 18th and 20th of the month.”
On the Administration side, Pierre Michel of Cisco’s Finance section explains that “these MGA 500 are used as travel expenses for the person in charge of collecting the cash voucher in Antsohihy. Many teachers do not pay but still receive their salary. However, the cash vouchers are late if they are not picked up there.”
Material use for personal purposes
Another technique for squeezing money out of teachers is the rental of personal equipment. At the Mandritsara Cisco, officials in charge of records management use brand new computers. They personally own these computers, as Cisco only has old typewriters, most of which are out of use. This equipment allows teachers to print or photocopy documents on the spot. Some of the necessary documents are only available from these officials. For each computerized service, teachers have to pay extra. Cisco officials have no objection to this internal organization: everyone uses his or her own equipment, keeps his or her own accounts and manages his or her own “clientele. The new teachers are distributed among the officials, so that the sharing of the “clientele” is equal. Gilbert, from the “Human Resources” section of the Mandritsara Cisco explains : “We have noticed that the State services are not working and we have sought solutions. We ask the teachers for money so that we can pay our travel, food and lodging expenses during the follow-up of the files. We cannot pay for the expenses of a job for the State from our pockets. In addition, all the Cisco machines are not functioning. It is out of goodwill that we brought our own computers to perform our work. Otherwise, the processing of files is blocked”.
We have noticed that the State services are not working and we have sought solutions.
Gilbert, from the “Human Resources” section of the Mandritsara Cisco
To Gilbert, it would be difficult to get rid of this practice, which has continued to this day, “given that it is widespread and known to everyone.” In 2018, a group of teachers challenged this system and filed a complaint. Having met with the local press, these disgruntled teachers denounced this illegal taxation.
“As a result, we took all our office tools home,” recalls Gilbert, “and went back to the defective machines. As a result, we were just keeping the desks, and the work piled up due to lack of equipment. Many of the teachers came to us and asked us to bring back our personal equipment so that work could resume. Many even agreed to increase the amount of money to be paid if necessary to keep the work going. Some teachers refuse to spend money, they want the work to be done for free, but that doesn’t suit us.”
Corruption in Mandritsara : a practice that keeps on going
The education sector has benefited from anti-corruption training and instruction, and the Mandritsara Cisco is no exception. A poster inviting everyone to work in transparency is still stuck on the office’s wall. For his part, Mandritsara’s Cisco Chief says he has “asked officials to put an end to these illegal payments.” He affirms this practice has stopped and “there has never been a teacher who has not received his salary at the Mandritsara Cisco”. The Cisco Chief says he is following the progress of the numbered files in due form, but acknowledges, however, in mid voice that the corruption remains latent. He said he fears that “this illegal practice will resurface soon because, on both sides, we are so used to it.” The Cisco Chief reports having received many complaints from teachers who chose to travel directly to Antsohihy to complete their files. The latter claimed to be victims of bribes demanded by the official in charge of salaries in Antsohihy. As a result, the teachers return to negotiate with the Cisco missionary in Mandritsara to save money.
Money swindling is still going on
Our investigations confirm that this practice continues and that most of the Mandritsara pedagogical advisors and ZAP leaders are aware of it. However, while some teachers and victims recognize the illegality of this system, others say they accept it because it facilitates work, although many of them feel that “MGA 15,000 to MGA 20,000 is too expensive,” as one teacher at the EPP in Antsirabe Mandritsara explains. Nonetheless, many public servants are worried that refusal to pay will jeopardize their cases and have negative career implications.
According to Cisco Chief, this corruption case was reported to officials at the Regional Direction of National Education (Direction Régionale de l’Education Nationale – DREN) in Sofia. During a meeting, the Regional Director Rakotovao Razafimandimby, said he received complaints in 2018 about this money extortion by the clerk of Mandritsara teachers’ files. That year, there would have been surveys made among the teachers. In addition, the officials within Cisco were reminded that all file processing and administrative services were free. Rakotovao Razafimandimby refutes the statements accusing the person in charge of salary payments in Antsohihy of requiring money. As for the District Chief and the Mayor of Mandritsara, they both affirmed not having received any complaint concerning corruption or exploitation on the part of education officials. Mandritsara’s District Chief, Léon Fulgence, said that “he, as the first state official, will immediately summon those in charge as soon as he receives complaints on this subject.
The reality is a source of temptation
Indriantsifera Radison Zaralahy, Cisco Chief of Mandritsara
The solution lies with the State and the Ministry of Education, which must grant an operating budget to each Cisco, according to the Cisco Chief of Mandritsara, Indriantsifera Radison Zaralahy. “The reality is a source of temptation” he says, “but the State’ work must be done. All categories, teachers, managers and executives within Cisco, must stand together and together they should file a complaint to the Regional Direction of National Education in Sofia. Then, it is up to the latter to report this complaint to the higher authorities.”
