from Berlingske Tidende, Denmark, 11 December, 2001
On Tuesday, the Travelling High School on the Way of Victory was
sentenced by the Western Country Court in the first of six cases to refund 4.9
million Danish kronen to the Ministry of Education because of several years unauthorized
subsidies.
The case is the first of five other cases where the Ministry is trying to get
money back from the Tvind schools.
In total, the Ministry of Education is trying to recover ten million crowns.
Initially, the claim was for about 15 millions, but the five millions the Ministry
already has gained by withholding subsidies in 1996.
The case against the Travelling High School on the Way of Victory has been going
on already for five years. In fact, there was an earlier sentence because of
absence against the school, but this sentence was canceled later on because also
the Ministry was interested that the case may be treated by
the courts.
The battle over subsidies was a central part of the Ministry's settlement with
the Tvind schools in 1996. According to the Ministry, several schools have
violated the rules for subsidies which, among others, have requirements
concerning the size of excursions and the number of participants at a study
course, in order to get subsidies.
In the sentence against the Travelling High School on the Way of Victory, the
Country Court states that the school's 21 weeks course in spring 1993 cannot be
accepted as a 20 weeks course, but only as a course of minimum 12 weeks. During
the course, more time was used for fundraising than what
would be acceptable according to the rules. It was estimated that the school has
"in considerable extent" neglected the rules for excursions in
connection with the course.
A 12 weeks course, latest in 1993, could as well not be accepted because also
there "in considerable extent" the rules for excursions were exceeded.
One of the groups used 14 days for fundraising, and in addition there were
excursions of all groups with a minimum duration of five days.
As the Travelling High School on the Way of Victory afterwards in the concerned
period not had run a course of minimum 20 weeks or two courses of 12 weeks minimum
each, the conditions to get subsidies were not fulfilled.
Also in 1995, a course was rejected by the Country Court, which supports the Ministry
of Education in its opinion to be entitled to claim the refunding of 4,9
millions. But the Ministry at no time had any great hope to see the money. When
the former minister for education, Ole Vig Jensen (R), started the case, one
knew that possibly no great financial gain would result from the case.
In the Ministry, one regarded the case as a principal decision which shows that
the opinion of the Ministry about the rules had been correct.
Ritzau
http://www.berlingske.dk/artikel141974.html