KUALA LUMPUR – The management of school construction projects was found to be inefficient and ineffective based on the scope and audit samples covering the construction of 19 new schools during the 2016-2021 period in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Melaka and Negri Sembilan.
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, 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 was conducted to evaluate if the management of 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 the mistakes are not repeated in the future, the auditor-general has proposed that the ministry conduct engagement sessions with all the parties involved at the federal and state levels, and to also finalise the project sites before the projects are tabled for approval by the Economic Planning Unit to reduce the risk of delays in implementation.
The ministry must ensure that land handed over as education reserves by developers are suitable for construction and do not require additional complex groundwork.
According to the report, the ministry must also streamline the school construction procedures and processes for more organised project management and ensure compliance with all the current regulations, while it should also conduct a review to identify the current requirements of the scope of school construction projects where the implementation is delayed. – Bernama, August 3, 2022
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