Benin: DEC scandal, ten officials accused of illegal deductions from teachers’ CEP exam bonuses

The announcement was made this Friday, August 21, at a press briefing held in Cotonou by the spokesman for the Republican Police, Captain-Major Éric Orou Yérima.

​The case came to light after complaints filed by several teachers assigned to supervise the exams. Threatened with disciplinary transfers after refusing to hand over part of their pay, they alerted the authorities.

Investigations by police services uncovered a well-oiled mechanism built around how supervisors were selected and assigned to examination centres.

​According to details presented by police, the department’s secretary appears to be the linchpin of this network, acting with the complicity of several other officials within the service.

This scheme of undue deductions had been running for several years, sustained by the silence of field officers who feared retaliation against their administrative careers.

​Up to 80% withheld from supervision allowances

​The financial harm inflicted on staff was particularly severe: out of an official allowance set at 200,000 CFA francs per supervisor, those implicated systematically withheld up to 160,000 CFA francs. Teachers were thus left with only a residual 40,000 CFA francs.

​This control over the allowances relied on a tacit right of recommendation that the ten officials had granted themselves with no legal or regulatory basis, each claiming the power to place at least five associates on the supervision rosters.

​CRIET takes up the case

​Following initial hearings, eight of the ten officials involved were referred to the special prosecutor’s office of the Court for the Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET). One of the main suspects was placed in pre-trial detention, while seven others remain under judicial summons as proceedings continue.

​The inquiry continues at the high court level to determine the exact scale of the misappropriated funds and identify any possible ramifications within other school districts or affiliated services.