According to the Auditor-General’s Report 2021 Series 1, this was due to weaknesses at the planning, pre-construction and implementation stages of the projects by the education ministry (MoE), consultants and contractors.

“There was also poor coordination with the state governments, local authorities and utility companies, besides the issue of preparedness of the project sites which contributed to the delay in implementing the projects.

“This situation made the projects’ objectives of accommodating the surplus of students through the building of new schools and having one-session schools difficult to achieve,” said the report.

The audit conducted was to evaluate if the school construction projects had been properly planned and implemented prudently, efficiently and effectively to achieve the two objectives.

To overcome the weaknesses raised and to ensure that the mistakes were not repeated, the auditor-general proposed that the MoE conduct engagement sessions with all the parties involved at the federal and state levels, and also finalise the project sites before the projects were tabled for approval by the Economic Planning Unit to reduce the risk of delays.

The MoE must also ensure that the land handed over as an education reserve by the developer was suitable for construction and did not require additional complex groundwork.

The ministry must also streamline construction procedures and processes for more organised project management and comply with all the current regulations.

The audit report also said the ministry should conduct a review to identify current requirements of school construction projects where the implementation had been delayed.