Minister Responds to Allegations of Misappropriation

Education Minister Jane Purves responded today, May 10, to allegations of misappropriation of funds in the post-secondary sector with actions of her own. Earlier today, the president of the Collège de l'Acadie announced that a senior administrator has allegedly misappropriated a significant amount of money.

"Like the senior staff and board of governors at the Collège de l'Acadie, I want to determine if there was a proper set of checks and balances in place, or whether the control system they do have simply failed to work in this instance," said Ms. Purves.

Upon being informed of the allegations, the minister directed staff to investigate what occurred, beginning with the hiring process of the senior staff member to the point of discovering the misappropriated funds.

Ms. Purves said a billion dollars is being spent on education.

"Nova Scotians deserve to know that it's being properly accounted for and that every possible dollar gets to the students.

"I have also asked the Auditor General to review the audit functions within our community colleges and universities to ensure that the proper internal controls are in place to prevent this happening again."

Ms. Purves noted the president of the college and his staff acted quickly by ordering a forensic audit, seeking legal advice, notifying the college's various funding partners and referring the matter to the police.

"Rest assured, just as we took steps to improve the financial accountability at the school board level, we will continue to act on any and all recommendations that strengthen financial accountability in all of our institutions," said Ms. Purves. "I am confident that the steps we are taking with the board of governors and the Auditor General will lead to recommendations that will ensure that provincial tax dollars are spent for the purposes for which they were intended."