Funds for Poor Students Misused
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
About 70 percent of primary and secondary schools in Seoul and other major cities were found to have misused meal fees paid by parents, according to the Anti-corruption and Civil Rights Commission, Sunday.
Of 1,351 schools in Seoul, Busan, Gwangju and Jeju Island, 946 schools misused a total of 2.2 billion won which should be used only for meal costs. They used the money to finance upgrades and maintenance of cafeteria facilities, it said.
``The money cannot be used for facility upgrades and maintenance. But about 70 percent of surveyed schools violated the rules,’’ a commission official said.
At the same time, many schools also inappropriately used government subsidies, which are extended to help finance Internet fees and other computer-related costs for poor students. They provided 160 million won in subsidies to 298 unqualified students, who were recommended by schoolteachers, rather than to poor students, it said.