Between 2020 and 2021, the State spent 7.9 million euros on SIM cards for internet connection, which were never used by students or teachers, according to the government’s investigation by the Court of Auditors into the “Acquisition of computers and connectivity – Phase 1 ” under the program for the digitization of schools, from first cycle to secondary, to respond to the covid-19 pandemic and the demands of distance learning. The guardianship has already asked the operators for a refund, according to the same report published this Monday.
“The execution of connectivity contracts was mainly affected by non-compliance with the contractual terms, with regard to connectivity cards (SIM cards) that were not allocated to students or teachers and without the effective consideration of services, i.e. without use, but which were billed by the operators,” said the document prepared by the institution headed by Judge José Tavares, following the audit carried out in the second half of last year.
In investigating these irregularities, the General Secretariat of Education and Science (SGEC) found that the state had unduly spent €7.9 million on phantom internet connections, an amount in addition to the €1.7 million also paid for non- compliance. due to the lack of connectivity services, and those were defined in phase zero of the school digitization program.
However, SGEC has already requested the refund of the amounts transferred and sent the non-compliant invoices, still unpaid, to the operators for an amount of 2.8 million euros. “It is therefore important to complete this verification and validation process of compliance with contractual obligations and compliance with issued billing,” recommends the Court of Auditors (TdC) report.
Due to these irregularities, the connectivity contracts related to phase one of the program were only implemented at 65%, reaching an amount of €14.6 million, less than the total planned expenditure of €22.4 million, according to the audit.
After finding non-compliance in the provision of connectivity services in phase zero and one, SGEC also acted with respect to the phase two contracts and proceeded to fully reimburse the operators of the non-conformity billing for an amount of 25 million euros,” the regulator noted. “In this case too, it is important to complete the verification and validation process of the issued invoices in the light of the contractual obligations,” concludes the TdC.
Of the 1.05 million computers purchased, 360,000 would be affected, of which 100,000 were rejected by parents because they did not want to bear the maintenance costs.
At the time of the study, in the second half of last year, all 1.05 million computers referring to phases zero, one and two of the digitization of schools had already been allocated, the Court acknowledges, which does not point to irregularities in the purchase agreements. However, he emphasizes that “by March 2022, about 360,000” devices in educational institutions “were to be affected, that is, to be delivered, to students and teachers, of which 100,000 were denied by guardians or students”.
One of the main reasons that led to the rejection of computers concerns the possible “costs to be paid in case of damage or loss, since the equipment intended for children and adolescents from the age of six can easily and unintentionally be damaged and repaired. or replacement costs have a major impact, especially on families supported by Ação Social Escolar (ASE)”, the target group of phase zero and one of the allocation of computers, the TdC notes.
In the context of an adversarial dispute, “SGEC referred to that the number of denials has decreased, that there are only about 31 thousand denials and that the review of the terms of the contract with parents and guardians is ongoing, with the possibility of of lighting families of costs with the maintenance of computers that do not result from misuse,” the report of the inspector of public expenditures states.
With regard to the Escola Digital platform, created in 2020 to manage and control more than a million devices across 811 school groups, not all of which are assigned to students and teachers, weaknesses remain “with the historical record of computers that, started in 2021, still do not cover all situations, including those of other entities, as well as data inconsistency and shortcomings in identifying the source of funding,” the TdC warns. In this regard, “SGEC said that an acquisition procedure was already in preparation for the development of a new platform for process management and equipment monitoring for the Digital School, in the context of an online information system”, which should cost EUR 17 million, according to the National budget 2023.
This report has been sent to the Ministry and the Public Prosecutor’s Office and instructs the SGEC to forward documented information on the receipt of the recommendations to the Court of Auditors within 180 days.
Salomé Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
