Republic of 1alaii MINISTRY OF EDUCATION EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 IDA CREDIT No. 63790 IDA GRANT No. D8716 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 National Audit Office P 0 Box 30045 Lilongwe 3 November 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 2023 Table of Contents CONTROLLING OFFICER'S REPORT STATEM ENT OF M ANAGEM ENT RESPONSIBILITIES................................................................8 AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT 9 STATEMENT OF RECEIPTS AND PAYMENTS BY CATEGORY........................................... 12 2 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31s MARCH, 2023 CONTROLLING OFFICER'S REPORT INTRODUCTION In cognizance of a recurring trend of low achievement levels in Mathematics and Science at all levels of the secondary education subsector, particularly in Community Day Secondary Schools (CDSS), and low primary to secondary transition rate, the Government of Malawi through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), embarked on an Equity with Quality and Learning at Secondary Project (EQUALS) with a primary focus of improving the situation. In the foregoing, the MoEST in collaboration with both state and nonstate actors have oftentimes attributed the low achievement levels in the sciences to multifarious reasons. These include inadequate and underqualified teachers, absence of purposely built science learning space, poorly resourced science laboratories, unavailability or inadequate quantities of learner and teacher core textbooks and supplementary reading materials, disparities in resource allocation, inequity and relatively low primary to secondary transition rates. Project description The EQUALS Project is funded by the World bank through an investment credit to the tune of USD90million. It is a six-year intervention running from October 2019 to 3 lIDecember 2025 with a potential extension to another six years. The Bank also provided a Grant of USD5million for interventions aimed at mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Project Implementation Unit (PIU) that manages the day to day operations was set up and comprises a Project Support Team composed of the following cadres: Project Manager (PM), Financial Management Specialist (FMS), Accountant 2 x, Procurement Specialist, Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Communications Specialist, ICT Specialist, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Civil Engineer, 30 x Clerks of Work, Building Services Engineer, and Social and Environmental Safeguards Specialist (SESS), Assistant Architect, Assistant Quantity Surveyor, and 4 Divisional Engineers 3 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31s' MARCH, 2023 Project objective The EQUALs project has a primary objective of improving the quality of mathematics and science instruction in CDSS and access to secondary education in selected remote areas. The attainment of this objective is premised on the following terminal indicators: (a)Percent of CDSSs meeting selected minimum standards for quality science and mathematics instruction (b)Primary to secondary transition rate in remote schools from 13 districts (C) Learning achievement in standardized assessment in science and mathematics8 Project components Component 1: Improving the quality of science and Mathematics Instructions (USS28,010,000) Under this component, the Project is implementing various activities that aim at improving pedagogical practices in the teaching and learning of mathematics and science subjects in the secondary sub sector. Component 2: Enhancing equitable access to secondary education (US$51,446,000) This component will support the Government to institute a sustainable 10-year secondary education expansion plan grounded on equity and efficiency enhancing policy reforms; revival of school health and hygiene promotion along with school related gender-based violence mitigation measures; and optimal use of existing school spaces in the selected 13 remote districts. Component 3: Project Coordination, Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation (US$10,543,900) This component will follow the traditional input-based project funding approach to facilitate project operations. Key intervention areas in this respect include the following; Capacity enhancement for implementation support, strengthening data and information systems data collection, reporting, process monitoring and utilization processes at various end user points for effective policy dialogue. 4 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31"' MARCH, 2023 Implementation status and Achievements In component 1, the following interventions have been achieved: * 4,507 secondary mathematics and science teachers from all the Education Division were re-oriented on the new curriculum * The Ministry through the Quality Assurance Directorate monitored the implementation of the curriculum in all secondary schools in the thirteen impact districts. The results showed that 56.9% of science teachers displayed good professional, subject and curriculum knowledge hence surpassing the project life target of 46.2% * Chancellor College, in collaboration with the Malawi Institute of Education developed a year-long accredited blended model of learning (face-to-face + ODeL) on school management and instructional leadership for about 1,400 head teachers and deputy head teachers. The two institutions completed the training with 1,432 participants. Meanwhile, results will be released soon. * A total of 1,292,976 mathematics, biology, physics and chemistry textbooks were procured, shipped to Malawi and delivered to 885 secondary schools across the country. About 96.5% of the schools attained a 1:1 student to textbook ratio. This surpasses the project life target of 90%. For the remaining schools that are yet to achieve the 1:1 ratio, additional textbooks and science charts have been procured and will be delivered to schools by the end of November 2023. * The New Jersey Centre for Teaching and Learning which was contracted to provide web- based methodology and content to 76 Teacher Trainers from the universities completed their assigrunent. The trainers commenced training science teachers at cluster level in all the thirteen impact districts * MANEB developed e-registration and e-payrnent systems to help improve examination candidate registration and payment of examination fees. The platforms were successfully rolled out to all education divisions where examination administration was greatly improved. The Project also procured ICT equipment to facilitate the intervention. Meanwhile, public awareness initiatives are being designed for implementation. * Continuous Assessment guidelines and tools for secondary schools were developed, refined and approved by the MoE management. Meanwhile, the assessment record books have been distributed to all secondary schools across the country * Student interactive and digitized workbooks for both junior and senior secondary mathematics and science subjects were developed, trial-tested and refined. They have also 5 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31S MARCH, 2023 been distributed to schools for use. A consultant was hired to digitalize the workbooks and work is in progress. The contract of over 600 auxiliary teachers aimed at lessening teaching workloads in secondary schools came to an end. About 600 were absorbed into the main stream teaching service on permanent basis while the remaining ones will be considered in the next recruitment exercise. In component 2, project achievements include: * Development of a sustainable secondary education expansion simulation model which has been approved by the MoE management. Training of user officers was also done. * Completion of development of ODeL materials for eleven senior secondary school subjects and two junior secondary subjects with technical assistance from Notes Master. The resources are now accessible to students. The project is in the process of procuring appropriate offline access ICT equipment to complement the online access. * A teachers' Code of Conduct was developed and approved by MoE management. About 80,000 copies were printed, distributed to secondary schools and teacher training colleges. Teacher sensitization was also conducted across the country. * Guidelines for school related gender based violence were developed, reviewed and refined and approved by MoE management. These will be used by mother groups that were trained in all the impact districts. The mother groups will also be provided with push bikes in September 2023 to aid mobility * Provision of scholarships to batch 1 and 2 vulnerable students from Community Day Secondary Schools has been implemented. This includes the provision under the Additional Financing which caters for students' vulnerability due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry conducted two monitoring sessions in all secondary schools * Construction of additional infrastructure in 103 CDSSs is underway with an average of 50% progress rate. Handover of the structures is expected in October 2023. Also, in 95 secondary schools, cost-efficient classrooms are being built whose completion is expected in October 2023 * Development, review and approval of Environmental and Social Environmental Plans for for low-cost classroom construction sites was completed and publicized * Incorporation of Environmental and Social Environmental Plans in bidding documents for low-cost classroom construction works and subsequent approval the Bank was done * Setting up multi-level grievances redressal committees in all construction sites was completed * Conducted study tours to Kenya and Uganda on c-selection and placement. 6 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE ANI) TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR TIHE YEAR ENDED 31s' MARCH, 2023 * Development of an e-selection and placement platform of primary school completers for secondary education was completed and the system is now ready for use. * Developed a draft guidance and counselling handbooks for mother groups in secondary schools. Awaiting review and refining. * A strategy for Open Secondary School system was developed, completed, and approved by management. The next step is validation by stakeholders. * A financing model for secondary schools was developed and approved by management * A public-private partnership strategy for secondary education was developed, endorsed by management and awaits further consultation with Ministry of Finance In component 3, the following were achieved: * Calculation, review and bank approval of baseline values following an assessment of various school attributes * Completion of development of an online secondary school inspection reporting platform. The tool has been implemented and proved successful. * The development of an improved digitized Educational Management Information System and Secondary Teacher Management Information System is underway * Recruitment of additional project engineers was completed and staff are in positions * A stakeholder satisfaction survey was conducted * A consultant for independent verification of disbursed linked indicators was engaged and the first verification was conducted involving achieved performance based conditions one and two whose report was successfully approved the World Bank. Meanwhile, the consultant is doing a second verification * Successful auditing of project transactions by internal auditors Chikondano Mussa SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION 7 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31s MARCH, 2023 STATEMENT OF MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES The management of Equity with Quality and Learning at Secondary is required to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the project as at the end of the financial year and of the operating results for that year. The management is also required to ensure that the project keeps proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the project and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the financial agreements and statutes. In preparing the financial statements the management accepts responsibility for the following: * Maintenance of proper accounting records; * Selection of suitable accounting policies and applying them consistently; * Making judgment and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; * Compliance with applicable accounting standards when preparing the consolidated financial statements, subject to any material departures being disclosed and explained in the consolidated financial statements. The management also accepts responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the project and to maintain adequate systems of internal controls to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities The management is of the opinion that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial affairs of the project and of its operating results. The financial statements have been approved by the Ministry of Education on.............................and are signed on its behalf by: SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION PROJECT COORDINATOR 8 Telephone: + 265 1 770 700 In )eph please quote No. ............ ................ . [ mail :iitani Website: w4,anoionuI NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE P.O. BOX 30045 All Communications should be addressed to: CAPITAL CII Y National Audit Office LILONGWE 3 MALAWI AUDITOR GENERAL AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT TO THE SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT P164223 FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31st MARCH, 2023 Opinion I have audited the financial statements of the Equity with Quality and Learning at Secondary (EQUALS) Project comprising the Statement of Sources and Uses of Funds and Statement of Disbursement Linked Indicators on Sources and Uses of Funds for the period ending 31s March, 2023 and the related notes to the accounts for the period then ended as set out on pages 12 - 19. In my opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Equitywith Quality and Learning at Secondary Project as at 3 1" March. 2023 in accordance with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), Donor terms of agreement and financial provisions. Basis for Opinion I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAls). My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of my report. I am independent of the Equity with Quality and Learning at Secondary Project and the Ministry of Education in accordance with the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions - Code ofethics (ISSAI 30) as promulgated by the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), and I have fulfilled my other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion. Key Audit Matters Key audit matters are those matters that, in my professional judgment, were of most significance in my audit of the financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of my audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming my opinion thereon, and I do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 1 have determined that there is no need to communicate key audit matters in my report due the nature of the audited entity. Responsibilities of Management for the Project's Financial Statements According to Section 107 (1) of the Public Finance Management Act. 2022, the Management of Equity with Quality and Learning at Secondary Project is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) Financial Reporting under the Cash Basis of Accounting, Donor terms of agreement and financial provisions, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. This responsibility includes designing, implementing and maintaining internal controls relevant to the preparation of the financial statements that are free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error. Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Project's Financial Statements My objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement. whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes my opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAIs) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these Project's Financial Statements. As part of an audit in accordance with ISSAls, I exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. I also: * Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. * Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the internal control. * Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management. * Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation. 10 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EQUITY WITH QUALITY AND LEARNING AT SECONDARY PROJECT PROJECT No. 164223 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2023 I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that I identify during my audit. I also provide those charged with governance with a statement that I have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on my independence, and where applicable, related safeguards. From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, I determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. I describe these matters in my auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, I determine that a matter should not be communicated in my report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication. 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