European Union (EU) auditors complained about not being able to learn how the funds given to Turkey for Syrian refugees were spent.
The EU signed a migration agreement with Turkey in 2016. In this context, at least 6 billion euros were promised to Turkey to help it deal with immigrants from Syria.
In return, Türkiye promised to stop migrants from crossing into Europe.
It is planned to send another 3 billion euros to refugees in Turkey in 2021.
The main purpose of the fund is to provide cash payment cards to some of the more than 4 million registered refugees and to improve education and health.
However, according to DW Turkish, the European Union Court of Accounts (ECA) could not get any results from its follow-up on whether the money was used effectively last year.
Ministry of Education did not share data
It was stated that the Ministry of National Education (MEB) refused to provide information to the auditors.
An EU inspector explains why “They just claimed they didn’t have the data.” He explained with his words. Auditor, “We know that data should normally exist” said
ECA member Bettina Jakobsen emphasized that without data it is not possible to come to a conclusion about measuring the impact or sustainability of education projects signed by the EU.
530 million euros support for education
According to the European Commission, at least 530 million euros have been allocated to support quality inclusive education for refugees in Turkey.
This money was intended to pay teacher salaries, provide educational equipment, teacher training, counseling and other guidance services.
Auditors are seeking a list of schools receiving EU support and the number of refugee students attending. Auditors also need information on whether uneducated children are being reintegrated into the school system and on exam pass rates.
However, although auditors made joint and individual requests for information, they did not yield any results.
