Govt under fire for ignoring abuse of school funds

Advertisement
School

Primary school teachers in the country have accused government of not listening to calls from organisations to bring to book headteachers and school management committees suspected of mismanaging School Improvement Grant (SIG).

The teachers alleged that government’s silence on the issue is a sign of backing those who are practising corruption in schools.

Local Development Fund
A fallen school block

The Civil Society Coalition for Basic Education (CSCBE) has on several occasions been asking government to arrest culprits involved in mismanaging School Improvement Grant (SIG) meant for small projects in schools.

Its Executive Director, Benedicto Kondowe, observed that most of the schools in the country are poor as if government and development partners do not provide funds, hence a great need to investigate and bring to book the culprits.

Speaking to this publication, some teachers have challenged government to institute a commission of enquiry to check if schools have benefited from SIG by interviewing teachers away from headteachers and management committees saying most of the teachers are not involved in the planning for SIG funds.

The teachers have warned government that if it continues to give a blind eye over SIG in schools, most of the funds will continue landing in the pockets of headteachers and management committees.

Headteachers and management committees in Dowa have been accused of mismanaging school funds since 2006 when it was called Direct Support to Schools (DSS) before its named was changed to School Improvement Grant (SIG) through School Improvement Planning (SIP).

Advertisement