Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489656
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 JANUARY 2023 NEWS KURT SANSONE FREE school transport for non- state schools cost almost €30 million in 2021 but government has no control over this expend- iture, the National Audit Office found. The NAO annual report re- vealed how despite the signif- icant cost to government, the Education Ministry had no means to confirm the routes claimed by the service provid- ers. "This exposed the minis- try to potential abuse from the part of the service providers, ranging from dummy applica- tions to inflated routes," the NAO said, pointing to lack of internal controls that exposed the ministry to errors of over- payments and potential abuse. Sample cases reviewed by the auditors revealed 22 instances where operators of non-state transport were erroneous- ly paid according to rates for vehicles with a higher capac- ity. The rates vary according to the capacity of the vehicle used, which means operators in these cases were overpaid. "This implies that the vehi- cle category code was changed through manual intervention by the ministry, which resulted in an overpayment of €140,752 pertaining to the sampled routes," the auditors conclud- ed. Trips are also categorised as short, medium, long or ex- tra-long and are based on pre-established distances. However, auditors found in- stances related to both state and non-state providers where- by the distance code allocated, and consequently the amount paid, did not correspond to the set distance. These changes made by the ministry resulted in an over- payment of €136,621 on the sampled cases. Free school transport has al- ways been provided to students attending primary and sec- ondary state schools, who live more than 1km away from the school. However, in September 2018 the service was extended to include church and inde- pendent schools. The total cost to government for the service stood at more than €40 million in 2021 with the expenditure on non-state schools more than double that of state schools. The centralised system used for state schools and the fact that student applications for free transport are received by the ministry, provide a great- er measure of control. How- ever, in the case of non-state schools, students apply with the transport operators and the data is then inputted into the database by the providers themselves. This situation, the NAO not- ed, meant the ministry had no controls in place to verify the accuracy of route registers cre- ated by the service providers themselves. "Notwithstanding the very significant cost, controls in place prior to effecting pay- ment were limited to checks of the statements with the route register. However, accuracy of the latter was fully dependent upon the correctness of the de- tails, comprising students and route details, inputted in the SBN system (database) by the service providers," the NAO said. The NAO report identified other weaknesses in the sys- tem, including a general lack of independent monitoring and the ease of manual inter- vention without any audit trail. This led to "significant over- payments", the NAO said. It recommended that parents of students attending non- state schools should apply for free transport directly with the ministry, using the same sys- tem as that for state schools. This should "substantially im- prove" the ministry's control over the service, the NAO said. The ministry informed the NAO that changes will be im- plemented for the scholastic year starting in September 2023, having already identi- fied the issue of limited control over non-state school trans- port before the NAO audit commenced. At the end of the 2023/2024 scholastic year, the system will be evaluated again and any re- quired changes implemented. Auditors have also suggested strengthening internal controls by introducing different levels of access to the database for ministry officials. "No officer is to have unre- stricted access. It is also to be ensured, especially on figures that will serve as a permanent basis for payment, that ade- quate audit trail is embedded in the system," the NAO said. It also advised the ministry to investigate the cases highlight- ed in the audit and perform a holistic exercise to suss out any cases of overpayment. "The respective officers are to be held responsible to recoup any overpayments," the NAO said. ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt No controls over free school transport Dummy applications and inf lated routes: Ministry has no control over free transport for church and private schools The Education Ministry had no means to confirm the routes claimed by the service providers. "This exposed the ministry to potential abuse from the part of the service providers, ranging from dummy applications to inflated routes," the NAO said, pointing to lack of internal controls that exposed the ministry to errors of overpayments and potential abuse