It is said that poverty cannot be poor education. Recently, an audit report released by the National Audit Office at the 10th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress has aroused widespread attention and heated discussions in society. According to the report, from 2021 to August 2023, 66 counties across the country openly embezzled up to 1.951 billion yuan of student nutrition meal subsidy funds to repay local government debts and other non-related expenditures. Behind this staggering figure are the nutritional deficiencies that countless rural students may face, as well as the deep concern of all sectors of society about the security of funds.
The State Council's Audit Report on the Implementation of the Central Budget and Other Financial Revenues and Expenditures in 2023 discloses this serious problem in detail. The staff of the Audit Office conducted an in-depth review of 13 provinces and 159 counties, involving a total of 23.137 billion yuan, accounting for 91% of the total amount of subsidies in the selected counties in the same period. However, the results of the review are deplorable: the phenomenon of misappropriation, misappropriation and arbitrage of funds is widespread, which seriously infringes on the basic rights and interests of rural students.
The most immediate problem lies in the direct misappropriation of funds. According to the report, 66 counties have used nearly 2 billion yuan of nutritious meal subsidies to repay government debts and grassroots "three guarantees" (ensuring basic people's livelihood, wages, and operation) expenditures. This kind of behavior is tantamount to filling the financial hole of adults at the expense of children's health, which is outrageous.
Imagine those rural children walking to school every day with great anticipation, looking forward to a nutritious meal that can give them strength and warmth. But they never expected that this love, which should have belonged to them, would be wantonly plundered by some greedy hands.
The 1.951 billion yuan nutritious meal subsidy was originally intended to supplement nutrition and help children grow, but it was diverted by 66 counties to pay off government debts and grassroots "three guarantees" and other expenditures. Where is this misappropriation, this is simply snatching food in the children's rice bowl! Could it be that those leaders care about the flowers of the motherland like this? Is there still a conscience?
In some places, 270 million yuan was forcibly pulled out from children's mouths by lowering the standard of feeding and fictitious procurement business. What kind of shameless act is this? The thin bodies of the children, which already needed adequate nutrition to support, were ruthlessly sucked and squeezed clean by these people.
What is even more infuriating is that the education departments of five counties colluded with the winning suppliers to take 42.1602 million yuan to distribute benefits. How despicable this is! The health and future of the children are not as good as that little self-interest in their eyes. They are like moths, eroding the foundations of education little by little.
Look at those feeding units, cutting corners and shoddy, the so-called nutritious meals that children eat are simply a blasphemy of the word "nutrition". It's like drawing a delicious flatbread for the children, only to be given a piece of moldy bread.
Meal procurement bidding and meal supervision have also become a mess. Illegal designation of suppliers and unreasonable terms make it easy for enterprises that should not win the bid to win the bid. The black-box operation behind this, early memories of putting fairness and justice behind.
Seventy-eight enterprises or individuals won the bid through illegal means, and the relevant regulatory departments and school staff bent the law for personal gain and personal gain. This is nothing short of a blatant provocation to law and morality, a crime against the future of children!
The children in the countryside, whose living conditions are already difficult, are full of thirst for knowledge and anticipation for the future. And this nutritious meal subsidy is a ray of sunshine on their growth path and a guarantee of their health. But now, this ray of sunshine is obscured by dark clouds, and this security is destroyed by greed.
The exposure of this series of problems immediately triggered a strong response from the whole network. Netizens expressed their anger and puzzlement, questioning why such a large-scale misappropriation of funds occurred. At the same time, there are also voices calling on relevant departments to strictly investigate this matter to ensure that every penny is used to ensure the healthy growth of rural students.
Neither the general public nor the parents of children can tolerate such a thing! Those who misappropriate, squeeze and take nutritious meal subsidies must be dealt with and every penny returned to the children's tables.
(The picture comes from the Internet and has nothing to do with the incident)