Lukas explained that the employment contract had been terminated on the ground of violations of the duties of employment by the Rector of the Maritime Academy which were related to unlawful and non-purposeful use of financial resources. “The Maritime Academy has acted in conflict with the Public Procurements Act and also with the State Budget Act on several occasions,” noted Lukas. “For example, the educational institution has incurred costs for which no funds have been allocated in the budget and this, in addition to violation of the State Budget Act, has created the situation where the Maritime Academy had spent circa three quarters of the total volume of this year’s operational expenses budget by the end of August. At the same time, the Maritime Academy has failed to ensure that the state assets of which it has been granted use are used pursuant to the State Assets Act and it has granted the use of it to third persons without the relevant authorisation,” added the Minister. The Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Research made a proposal to terminate the employment contract of the Rector on the basis of the violations which were detected by the Internal Audit Department of the Ministry.

 

Lukas affirmed that the abovementioned violations did not, however, concern the contents of studies but they were related to unlawful and non-purposeful use of financial resources.

 

On the motion of the Legal Affairs Committee, the third reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Commercial Code and Other Acts (466 SE), initiated by the Government, was excluded from the agenda for the working week.

 

The Riigikogu Press Service