asked the Minister for Education if he is entitled to withdraw recognition from a school management committee for failure to observe the rules for the management of national schools laid down by his Department; the procedure to be followed in such cases; and the number of cases, if any, in which he has initiated such procedures.
Written Answers. - School Management Committees.
297.
The rules provide that the Minister may withdraw recognition for failure to observe the rules. It has not been found necessary to invoke the rules in the case of any board of management.
298.
asked the Minister for Education if officers of his Department have carried out an audit of the accounts of any primary school boards of management, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 22 of the Constitution and Rules of Procedure for Boards of Management of National Schools, in respect of the school years 1976-77 and 1977-78; the number of schools so audited in each year; and the number of schools audited, if any, with bank accounts in overdraft.
Audits of school accounts are carried out in two ways by inspectors of the Department in the course of their normal incidental visits to schools and by officers of the Department's headquarters staff for the purpose of determining appropriate procedures and gaining knowledge and experience of the problems involved. The aim is to ensure that all boards of management maintain accounts in a proper form and that a sample of accounts is audited in a more detailed way each year. So far, ten boards have come to the notice of the Department as having overdrafts contrary to the provisions of paragraph 22 of the Constitution of Boards and Rules of Procedure for National Schools. Some 60 school accounts were subjected to detailed audit in the school year 1976-77. The programme of audits for the school year 1977-78 has not yet been completed.
299.
asked the Minister for Education if the Constitution and Rules of Procedure for Boards of Management of National Schools permit the boards of management to incur bank overdrafts.
Paragraph 22 of the Constitution and Rules of Procedure for Boards of Management prohibits the incurring of bank overdrafts.