AG’s report on education sector highlights many past failings

The failure to introduce national education reforms, the inefficient school text book distribution, inability to achieve progress in construction projects, non-functioning sports schools, underutilised equipment, and lack of action against encroachers are among the observations made by the Auditor General last year with regard to the education sector.

The 2022 annual report of the Auditor General’s Department revealed that although Rs 5,219 million was spent in 2020, 2021 and 2022 for national education reforms, the reforms could not be brought in as planned.

The former State Ministry of Education Reforms being revoked and its duties being transferred to the Education Ministry in 2022 resulted in the expenditure of Rs 351 million, the report said.

55 acres belonging to 21 national schools, 7 acres belonging to 3 teacher’s colleges and 91 acres belonging to a college of education have been encroached upon without approval from the Education Ministry. The Auditor General pointed out that the action by education authorities has remained inefficient.

The report also revealed that 22 sports schools established in 1989 have been non-functioning for the past five years resulting in 293 sports scholarship holders leaving.

“The project to improve infrastructure of estate schools under Indian assistance received by the Education Ministry as at December 31, 2022 had achieved no progress whatsoever,” the Auditor General’s report said.

The project to construct a new national school with multi-ethnic and trilingual education in Polonnaruwa district has achieved only 42 percent progress while the construction of a new national college of education for technology has seen a progress of only 15 per cent.

“The Examinations Department installed a web digital printer in 2018 at a cost of Rs 546 million. However, that printer had been used to print only 8 percent of the question papers for GCE O/L examination in 2019, and 5 percent, 10 percent, 3.5 percent of the question papers relating to all the examinations conducted by the Department in 2020, 2021 and 2022,” the report highlighted.

The Auditor General’s report stated though it is a key function of the Education Ministry to regulate international and private schools, no regulation had been done by the Ministry.