MONTREAL -- Citing “significant governance gaps” and “a dysfunctional climate,” the Montreal educational educational service centre (CSSDM) has been placed under supervision of the Quebec government, effective immediately.

In an Education Ministry statement issued Wednesday, the government said the move will be effective for a period of six months, which “may be extended for an equivalent period if the situation warrants it.”

The CSSDM will be specifically be under the authority of Jean-Francois Lachance, who was appointed by the government to “take urgent administrative decisions, support the general management... (and) ensure the smooth running of the process aimed at filling positions of parent members on the CSSDM's board of directors.”

“In the medium term, this placement under supervision will allow the establishment of conditions conducive to the establishment of sound governance,” the Education Ministry said in its statement.

In January, an audit of the CSSDM's administration was launched following allegations of ethical breaches within its board. The audit found numerous breaches and a “dysfunctional climate between the administration and the board of directors and deficiencies in terms of governance and administrative management.”