Number and Seniority of Roles in the Case of Possible Falsified Approvals for Appointments of Education Officers as Recorded in FY2025/2026 Auditor-General's Report

Mr Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik asked the Minister for Education in respect of the Auditor-General's Office report on possible falsified approvals for appointment of officers (a) what roles or appointments had possible falsified approvals; (b) whether these appointments had any decision-making authority; (c) whether the appointed officers are still in their roles; and (d) whether the Ministry has separately conducted an investigation on the motivations behind such possible falsification.

Ms Eileen Chong Pei Shan asked the Minister for Education regarding the possible falsified approvals for appointments of officers noted in the FY2025/2026 Auditor-General's Office Report (a) how many such appointments processed under the manual approval system were found to lack adequate scrutiny; (b) whether all such appointments have since been re-verified as properly approved; and (c) what independent checks now prevent recurrence.

During the Auditor-General's Office (AGO) audit, the Ministry of Education (MOE) had identified possible falsified approval emails relating to the appointment of new officers. Following MOE's internal investigations, a Police report had been made. The officer responsible had also been dismissed from service.

As police investigations are ongoing, we are unable to share further details, including the roles affected or the motivations behind the falsification.

MOE's recruitment process requires all candidates to go through a rigorous selection process, including being assessed by properly constituted formal selection panels. Only after the selection panels have duly verified and cleared the candidates for appointment, would they be submitted to the appropriate authority for approval. The falsification of approvals cited in the AGO report pertains to this final step after the candidates have been cleared by the selection panels. MOE has checked and confirmed that all candidates listed in the falsification of approvals had been found suitable after going through the entire selection process, including clearing the selection panel.

Following this incident, we have strengthened internal controls for governance by introducing independent checks to verify that all appointments have received the required approvals and are working to automate staff appointment processes to reduce reliance on manual workflows.

MOE remains committed to upholding public trust.