The "CorrWatch" initiative - composed of the organizations GLPS, GAP Institute and INDEP - has asked the State Prosecutor's Office to launch investigations into the practices of the Ministry of Education regarding the issue of subsidies for the supply of school textbooks.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Education announced that again this year, students will be supplied with textbooks through parents' subsidies for their purchase. While the amount for the purchase of textbooks and teaching aids has been determined, the Ministry of Education has said that they still do not know exactly how much the books cost.
Describing the process as illegal, "CorrWatch" has called on the institutions to reflect on the process and for the Prosecutor's Office to start investigations. According to this initiative, the Law on Pre-university Education has been violated.
"This action is not only a violation of MESTI's legal obligations, but it also causes an unnecessary burden for parents, which, moreover, can affect the timely start of the learning process, negatively affecting students. MESTI, for the second year in a row, has committed legal violations despite having a whole year at its disposal to ensure that this process was in accordance with the law and the public interest, it completely failed to plan and fulfill its obligations, showed negligence and lack of responsibility on the part of the ministry", says the reaction.
"CorrWatch" has said that the Ministry has left room for misuse. "By subsidizing this service, which in fact should have been the exclusive responsibility of the ministry, MESTI has left ample room for misuse, but it also shows a lack of real control, transparency and accountability in the management of public money," the reaction says.
The lack of information on book prices and the total cost of the process, "CorrWatch" has described as a lack of proper planning and management of state responsibilities.
"Moreover. last year, this way of subsidizing has cost the government over 11 million euros—more than the planned value for the procedure negotiated with the companies, and exceeding it was the reason for canceling the procedure. On the other hand, the problems reported, such as delays in the supply of books, problems with the application, as well as the complaints of parents who have not yet been compensated, clearly prove that this approach has been far from being accountable, transparent and efficient", says the reaction.
The subsidy process was accompanied by many controversies last year. Classes started on September 1, but according to the directorates of education, some students were not supplied with textbooks until December. The Ministry of Education has confirmed that some parents have not been subsidized until May.
