Teacher cashed salary three years after quitting

Abu Dhabi: A Jordanian teacher was still able to cash her salary for three years after her contract ended, Gulf News has learned. 

The teacher was hired by a public school on September 9, 1989. After 17 years she ended her contract on August 28, 2006 and returned home. With her ATM card, she managed to withdraw her salary for three years, cashing a total of Dh216,000.

However, after her ATM card stopped working, she called the bank manager to complain about her card, confirming that she was still employed by one of the Ministry of Education's public schools and was just spending a holiday back in her home country. 

Explained

The manager checked and explained that her card had expired and advised her to renew it when she returned. She then said she was on a long holiday and was in desperate need of money.

Her hesitant answers aroused suspicion with the manager and he called the Ministry of Education which launched an investigation to unearth the truth.

"The legal department in the Ministry of Education took the necessary measures inside and outside of the UAE to get this money back," Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education, told Gulf News yesterday.

"A detailed file about this incident has been given to the General Prosecutor in an attempt to get back this large amount," he added.

"The judicial and administrative divisions in the ministry that are responsible for this mistake ran internal investigations and shared with the concerned official sectors the results of this investigation," the minister said.

However, an official from the inspection section confirmed that the responsibility falls equally between the Ministry of Education and of Finance. 

"Upon termination of a teacher's contract for whatever reasons, his name is removed from the salaries list in the Ministry of Education.

"In order for the teacher to get his end of service gratuity, a form with his due amount is sent from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Finance for approval. In this particular case the financial division in the two ministries didn't take the teacher's name off their lists," the official said.

What would you do if you were in such a situation? Have you experienced anything similar?