'I'm under attack' - Porus High principal says audit maligns his integrity
Published:Thursday | January 20, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
LIVID THAT the unflattering findings of an audit of his school were in the public domain without the management or board of the institution receiving a copy, principal of the Porus High School in Manchester, Michael Stewart, yesterday claimed his integrity is under attack as moves are being made to discredit him.
Stewart vowed yesterday to clear his name in the wake of a Public Accountability Inspectorate (PAI) audit, which recommended that the principal of Porus High and the staff of the institution's tuck shop be held accountable for a $1.8-million shortfall in the tuck-shop account.
"I have not seen a copy of the report ... . My board of governors has not seen a copy, the school has not seen a copy and, to be hearing it banded in the media, I believe it is disgraceful, untenable and unbelievable," Stewart told The Gleaner yesterday.
"I believe that it is a scurrilous attack on the principal of the school and (meant) to discredit him and to discredit the good name of Porus High School. It's a wanton, callous attack on my professionalism and my integrity and my honesty; in my 30 years in the profession, it has never happened," the former Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) president contended.
Stewart said he wrote to top ministry of education officials in December last year, requesting a copy of the audit, but was told they had no knowledge of the report.
Still awaiting copy of audit
According to Stewart, letters were also sent to Finance Minister Audley Shaw and his junior minister, Arthur Williams. However, he said to date, the school had not received a copy of the audit.
The veteran educator said he was now trying to arrange a meeting with the minister of education and permanent secretary in an effort to obtain a copy of the audit. Stewart said the school board would then convene an emergency meeting to examine the way forward. He said the leadership of the school would then convene a press conference to clear the school's name and the principal's name.
The PAI had also recommended that a surcharge be imposed on Stewart and the tuck-shop staff for unauthorised overdraft charges incurred on the tuck-shop account.
Stewart said he would not be able to comment on the report as he had not yet received a copy.
However, he said the management of the school had looked at the audit query and answered them to the best of its ability.
An audit of the school by the PAI revealed that the institution breached the Government's procurement guidelines and, in some instances, spent public funds extravagantly.
Inadequate inventory, weaknesses in the systems of internal control and improper use of funds were also cited in the PAI audit.
On Tuesday, Shaw provided copies of the audit to Parliament. He made it clear that he did not instruct the PAI to carry out the investigation.
Concerns were raised in Parliament last week that Porus High might have been targeted after it emerged that Buff Bay High School was also audited. Current JTA President Nadine Molloy was principal at Buff Bay.
Education Minister Andrew Holness later divulged that Buff Bay High was audited by his ministry and had no connection to the investigation at Porus High.
In the report, Stewart had said that the tuck-shop staff were all suspended, pending further investigation, when they could not account for the missing funds.
But in its report, the inspectorate said it was not satisfied with the responses given by Stewart.
... Members of school board disturbed
Yesterday, the board of management of Porus High School expressed grave concerns about the audited financial report.
In a release, board Chairman Dalton Stewart said the body, having discovered the irregularities at the tuck shop, took the decision to fire the two persons who were assigned there.
"The board of management along with the principal hired a cadre of trained cashiers and placed cash registers in the tuck shop for better accountability. Since then, the tuck shop has been doing well," Stewart said.
He added that the board was, therefore, quite disturbed to know that since 2009 when the audit was conducted, neither the Ministry of Education, the school board nor the principal had received a copy of the report which was promised to the school.
"Please be assured that once the board of management receives a copy of the report, a full response will be made to the Ministry of Finance and the Jamaican people," he said.