Education ministry fails to spend 85 billion shillings

Education ministry fails to spend 85 billion shillings

The Education and Sports Ministry has failed to spend Shillings 85.1 billion meant for construction of classrooms, purchase of instructional materials, equipment and machinery.

The money was allocated in the 2016/2017 financial year, according to the Education Committee of parliament.

The committee report on the Ministry’s 2017/2018 financial budget shows high unspent balances under different programs such as Skills Development where Shillings 37.78 billion remains unspent, Higher Education Shillings 18.04 billion, Quality and Standards Shillings 9.13 billion and Policy and Planning Shillings 3.34 billion.

The other areas with unspent funds include Secondary School Education with Shillings 1.74 billion, Makerere University Shillings 12.56 billion and Kabale University Shillings 2.59 billion.

Jacob Opolot, the Education Committee Vice Chairperson, blames the problem on delayed procurement, slow pace of works and generally low absorption capacity in the ministry.