Many violations exist at the Department of Education and Training of Son La.

Son La Provincial Inspectorate has just announced Conclusion No. 75/KL-TTr on the management and use of investment funds and renovation and repair funds invested by the Son La Department of Education and Training and units under the Department.

Son La Department of Education and Training. Photo: Internet

According to the Inspection Conclusion, during the inspection period (2023-2024), the Son La Department of Education and Training directly invested in 19 projects, new construction works and renovation and repair of classrooms, boarding houses, multi-purpose houses, kitchens, yards, gates, fences, outdoor stage roofs... The approved estimated value is 275.8 billion VND.

However, many projects encountered serious violations; 5/19 projects invested by the Department had errors in acceptance and payment, with the amount of violations being 101 million VND. By the time of inspection, 10 projects had been completed, the remaining 9 projects and works were under construction.

Units under the Department are the investors of 78 school maintenance and repair projects with a total approved estimated value of over 240.9 billion VND. By the time of the inspection, 68 projects had been completed and put into use; 6 projects were under construction; 4 new projects were being surveyed, economic and technical reports on construction investment were prepared, design documents and estimates were appraised, contractors were selected, construction contracts were signed, and construction was prepared. 12 projects invested by affiliated units were also found to have violations in acceptance and payment, causing a loss of 144 million VND.

The Inspectorate also pointed out that in using investment funds for construction, renovation and repair of schools and classrooms, the Department and its affiliated units have not completed all procedures in construction investment; there are still errors in budget estimates in some items of some projects and works.

There are still shortcomings in the negotiation, signing and implementation of construction contracts for projects and works: the investor and contractor do not review the work volume table according to the design documents (during the negotiation of the lump sum contract); the contract has not determined the level of advance payment recovery through each payment, the milestones for completion and handover of main works and products, the signer of the minutes, acceptance documents, and handover according to regulations.

In the past 2 years, the Son La Department of Education and Training has implemented 35 equipment procurement packages with a total cost of more than 169 billion VND, but has only disbursed 75 billion VND. However, many violations have been discovered. 2 large procurement packages for minimum teaching equipment (grades 4, 8, 11 and 5, 9, 12) with a total value of up to 89.42 billion VND are behind schedule.

Some affiliated units have not updated contract progress information on the National Bidding Network System and have not publicly announced acceptance results.

The Department was assigned to organize 90 training and development courses for cadres and teachers in 2024, with a total budget of 23,361,000 VND. However, the budgeting and spending work is still inadequate. The budget for compiling training materials is incorrect with an amount of 13,000,000 VND. Some expenses for organizing the Phu Dong Sports Festival have not been specifically explained.

Son La Provincial Inspectorate also made some recommendations for handling, in terms of economics, recovering and paying to the Provincial Budget the amount of 108,191,964 VND due to incorrect acceptance and payment at 11 projects. Deducting in acceptance and payment the amount of 126,919,328 VND due to incorrect estimates, acceptance and payment at 6 projects and works.

The inspection conclusion stated that these violations not only caused budget loss but also reduced the reputation of the Son La education sector. The responsibility belongs to the leaders of the Department of Education and Training of Son La province, functional departments and affiliated units. The Director of the Department must take general responsibility for the violations and at the same time require relevant individuals and groups to organize reviews and remedy the consequences.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/ton-tai-nhieu-sai-pham-tai-so-giao-duc-va-dao-tao-son-la.html