B.N.T.U. President Comments on Julian Cho Financial Audit

Senator Smith also told News Five that she will be visiting Julian Cho Technical School in the south with the hopes of having a discussion with the administration. Those talks are expected to focus on the audit recently tabled in the House of Representatives for the period 2014 to 2016. The audit shows major financial discrepancies where teachers were being awarded tens of thousands of dollars in contracts without documentation under the watch of U.D.P. Standard Bearer for Stann Creek West Simon Coc. Smith says that the ministry needs to address the matter urgently.

Elena Smith

Senator Elena Smith, National President, B.N.T.U.

“We have heard about it in the media. We don’t have a copy of that. But I am hoping to have a talk with the administration tomorrow because we head that way. I will be stopping into see if I can get a word with them to get some feedback on this matter. We prefer to have information before putting any statement out there so that is the hope I can do tomorrow, I can get some info from them and see what B.N.T.U. will be doing in relation to this matter. This is just one of many schools. You do know that there are other schools that have issues in terms of finances. Those might now be out in the public as yet but this has been a constant occurrence in some of our secondary schools. This is something that the ministry really needs to look at and determine what actions they will take to address these matters because f you don’t address them they will continue and if people feel that they have support from higher ups whether it be their board or moving higher then persons will not be afraid to do certain things. We are hoping that is not the case here but if it is the ministry would then step in to do what it needs to do to ensure that it does not happen again.”