Audit report claims inefficient monitoring of school subsidies

The Commission of Audit (CA) says that financial subsidies granted to private schools are poorly monitored. According to a report revealed yesterday, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) and the Education Development Fund (FDE) have been ineffective in solving problems detected in the manner in which schools are subsidized. Neither body has been able to confirm that the data collected in the schools is dealt with effectively.
The CA report claims that the failures in monitoring private-
school subsidies have contributed to damaging both the public coffers and those of the students and their parents.
The CA report features reviews and suggestions as to how the one might solve the problems that have arisen as a result of procedures adopted by DSEJ and the FDE.
According to the report, which refers to the academic year 2012/2013, private schools were subsidised to the tune of about MOP2.084 billion, of which MOP1.232 billion was given by the DSEJ under the “Free schooling system” and MOP759 million was allocated for the FDE within the schools development plan program. These subsidies account for 95.54 percent of the total amount of funds distributed.
The CA has selected 324 Subsidy Plan Reports from 8 schools to analyze the situation in detail. The findings point out that the administrative body FDE was not strict in attaining proof of expenses from schools, therefore acting against the approved regulations.
In 29 of the reports analyzed, various irregularities were found, including an absence of evidence, insufficiency of evidence, and lack of consistency between the amounts of evidence and the amounts declared in the expenses reports, among other mismatching cases. The total amount of unverified expenses amounts to around MOP9.56 million.
Additionally, the CA states that the FDE did not ensure that the inspectors fully complied with the procedures that had been established to verify activities within the project.
Of the implementation reports analyzed, 69 of them had no evidence relating to a project’s execution, and the inspection reports also did not contain any information regarding initiatives that would prove its execution. In cases that amount to a combined MOP28.13 million, the purpose of the subsidy grants is called into question.
The auditory report adds that DSEJ’s school inspection service has a duty to monitorize the schools included in the free education subsidy program. However, DSEJ did not clarify how the inspection service works. According to the audit report, some of the schools covered by the exemption program charged illegal fees to the students, a problem that DSEJ inspectors sometimes failed to detect.
After examining the accounts from the schools included on the free education program for the academic years 2010/2011, 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, 36 potential charges claimed by schools that were likely to be covered by the exemption were identified, which was confirmed on 6 of them by the School Inspection. The CA found that in these reports, 20 unauthorized charges had been recorded totaling MOP360,786. By July 2015, more than 80 percent of these amounts had not yet been returned to students, leading the CA to conclude that DSEJ did not effectively monitor the schools’ performance of the duties that they must undertake as beneficiaries of the free education system. This reportedly led to a situation where the interests of the students and their parents were harmed.
While the CA also found that some of the issues identified by DSEJ in the past continue to remain unfixed for years, it also suggested that the bureau did not adopt measures to ensure that these issues were solved, suggesting instead that account approval reports had simply been eliminated from the procedures. The audit report says that DSEJ failed to apply any of the sanctions prescribed, even in situations that constitute a legal offense.
The report notes that the public audit is designed to detect problematic situations relating to legality and compliance procedures in a timely manner, and thus to allow the relevant authorities to take the necessary corrective and preventive measures to reduce repeated infringements. It states that education is a priority in the government’s action plan, and the results have a significant impact on the cultivation of talent in Macau as well as social and cultural development. Therefore, the cost/benefit ratio is given particular attention by the population.
The DSEJ and the FDE, as responsible entities for granting financial aid to private schools, must provide clear instructions and control measures in order to avoid irregularities from the schools. By effectively completing their duties, they thus ensure good application, allocation and management of the financial support granted annually, and consequently, good management of public financial resources. The report concludes by saying, “The problems detected in this audit should be carefully considered by the DSEJ and the FDE.” It urges these entities to “proceed quickly in order to correct the problems and to promote better education for all.”