AGO: MOE reports possible falsified approval emails in officer appointments

The Auditor-General's Office (AGO) released its Report of the Auditor-General for the financial year 2025/26 on 15 July 2026, raising 136 audit findings across government ministries, statutory boards and government-owned companies, of which 29 were assessed significant enough to detail in the report.

As part of its audit of the Government Financial Statements, AGO carried out sample checks on the appointment of officers at selected ministries and organs of state, including the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Under the Government Instruction Manual on Staff, an agency must obtain approval from its approving authority before making an offer of appointment to a selected applicant.

Weaknesses in the appointment process

AGO picked 22 cases of MOE officer appointments made between 1 April 2025 and 31 December 2025 to check for proper approval.

"Following our request for supporting documents, MOE informed us of possible falsified approval emails," the report said.

MOE has lodged a police report on the matter.

Auditors found the appointment process had weaknesses that, in their view, "did not provide adequate assurance that there was proper scrutiny by the approving authority to ensure that the appointments were supported and justified."

MOE explained that its approval process relied on manual procedures, owing to its specific operational context and high recruitment volume, and that these manual processes had created "potential vulnerabilities to unauthorised human interventions," according to the report.

MOE's response

MOE acknowledged that the appointment process could be improved and said it had since strengthened controls, including monthly independent checks to identify discrepancies between approved appointments and the appointments actually sent for processing.

It told AGO it had made clear to staff that governance standards must be upheld regardless of operational pressures, and that it would work towards automating the appointment process and enhancing internal controls and monitoring by the end of 2027.

In a separate public statement, MOE said it took the matter "very seriously" and confirmed that the officer responsible had been dismissed from service. It said candidates undergo formal recruitment processes, including panel assessments, and that appointments must be approved by the appropriate authority before offers are made.

"MOE remains committed to upholding public trust through strong governance and continuous improvement of our processes," the ministry said.