The Auditor General's 2021 audit report on the Higher Education Ministry has shown that over MVR 1.9 billion has not been received from loans issued to students under various schemes.
According to the financial audit report, as of December 2021, a total of MVR 186,477,740 is overdue on loans issued to students for higher education.
The audit report noted that the Higher Education Ministry had not made adequate efforts to recover the loans issued to various schemes, and the validity of the loans has not been verified.
Money owed to the state from loans
Receivables by December 2021: MVR 1.9 billion
Outstanding (overdue) as on December 2021: MVR 186.4 million
The audit report also noted that the Higher Education Ministry did not establish its internal controls and did not maintain proper accounts to ensure that the MVR 105.3 million stated as overdue for the loan schemes was the correct amount due from the scheme as of the end of the year.
In addition, the audit report states that the Higher Education Ministry did not always deposit money in a public bank account but kept funds in other accounts. This amount is over MVR 44.1 million.
The Auditor General said the ministry had not taken any steps to recover the money and has not filed the cases under the Public Finance Act.
