PAC puts Exams Dept to the test and it fails miserably
View(s):The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its report submitted to Parliament on Thursday, by its head, Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama, has revealed several shortcomings within the Examinations Dept, including underutilisation of funds and equipment, as well as a proper internal audit.
The PAC which examined the Auditor General’s Reports of the Examination Dept, submitted up to November 2010, found that there was no proper independent audit within the Dept.
The PAC also found a difference of Rs 96,363,258 million between the Treasury and the Dept’s books during that time.
The reason given for this was that there had been a delay in getting income reports from Divisional Secretariats in respect of Grama Sevaka exams.
The PAC also observed the underutilisation of Optical Marker Reader machines which have been at the Dept for several years.
The explanation given for the non-utilization of the machines was that they needed uninterrupted power supplies and that, a Rs 30 million project had been planned to overcome this problem.
However, the PAC has advised that technological advice be taken and a cheaper option looked at to overcome this problem.The PAC Also found considerable delays in issuing results of school and institutional examinations, and directed that a plan be put in place to expedite this process.When the PAC examined the accounts, it also found that action had not been taken in respect of 4,045 cheques totaling Rs 13 million, which were not presented for payment for over six months.
The cheques had been drawn in favour of teachers engaged in paper marking, which had not been collected by them.
The PAC directed that a system be introduced for crediting those amounts to the bank accounts of the respective teachers, and report back to the PAC.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus