Indian Education Grant Program Is Susceptible to Fraud and Abuse, Report Says

A federal Office of Indian Education program that awards money to colleges and universities to train American Indians to become teachers and school administrators has failed to maintain accurate records, creating “an environment susceptible to fraud, waste, and abuse,” according to an audit by the U.S. Education Department’s inspector general. In a report issued on Tuesday, the inspector general said that the inadequate record-keeping meant the department could not adequately track students who received the grants to make sure they were paying back the funds or serving Indian communities. The office is also storing students’ data without their knowledge, the report says, and some of the grant money was awarded to institutions that planned to spend less than half of it on training students.