“The State spending watchdog overseeing the long overdue ‘forensic audit’ at Irish Universities has contradicted a claim by Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe that a major value-for-money review of higher education is nearly complete. The Comptroller and Auditor General, John Buckley, contradicted the Minister by stating that the review will take up to 18 months before it is concluded. Mr Buckley further stated that only preliminary work scoping out a study had been done, and that the substantive work will not start until the autumn. He added that the first call on resources was to ensure that the accounts of state bodies were certified on an annual basis. Work on other reporting topics, including FAS, had to be prioritised …” (more)
[Watchdog on Higher Education in Ireland, 31 March]