A parliamentary panel on Monday showed utter displeasure over lack of coordination and information sharing of Higher Education Commission (HEC) with Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and other relevant departments and warned that principal accounting officer (PAC) may be penalized over non-compliance with the directives of the committee again.
A six-member sub-committee of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) met under its Convener Senator Sherry Rehman to examine compliance status of previous meetings of the committee on the audit reports of HEC, Aviation Division and Water Resource Division for year 2015-16.
Convener committee conducting the proceedings expressed utter displeasure over non-compliance with actionable points of previous meetings of the HEC. At one point Sherry Rehman warned the principal accounting officer that the committee would hold accountable and penalize him as he has failed to comply with the directives of the PAC in given time period.
The committee directed management of Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) and HEC to award and recognize the dual degrees of Comsats students, despite HEC had filed an intra-court appeal against the decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The subcommittee also recommended action against a former rector who was re-employed in Comsats as executive director at end of his tenure. The committee also expressed its displease over failure of taking any action against the registrar and director finance of Comsats for starting the dual degree programme without getting approval from the HEC.
Discussing an audit para related to Comsats for charging Rs 495.602 million from students for the dual degrees programme, one each from Comsats and the University of Lancaster, UK, the committee said if the programme was started without fulfilling rules, there was no fault of the students.
The report said the management of CIIT Lahore had enrolled 2,532 students under the dual degree programme during 2010-14. The committee said as per earlier directives of PAC, the HEC was supposed to recognize both the degrees as one-time favor to the students. But instead of implementing the PAC orders, the HEC approached the court.
Comsats Rector Dr Raheel Qamar said the Lahore High Court had decided the case in favor of students but the HEC filed an intra-court appeal. He said the programme had already been closed in 2014 but the students were yet to get their degree of Lancaster.
The committee members came down hard on the HEC, saying why it has been creating hurdles for students who are not at a fault.
The members said though the matter is sub judice, the committee wants justice for the students.
The committee recommended that dual degrees of students should be recognized and action should also be taken against the Comsats officials.
Discussing the audit paras of Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST), the committee expressed its surprise over the level of mismanagement and alleged corruption at the university under the tenure of Dr Zafar Iqbal as vice chancellor who has obtained bail in fifteen cases filed against him.
The audit officials informed the committee that the management of FUUAST awarded PhD scholarships of 22 faculty members amounting to Rs 125.240 million for studies in different foreign universities under the project Strengthening of Departments (Computer Science, Physics, Business Administration and Law). The audit report claimed that the university ignored the NTS test qualified candidates and selected only one candidate who had qualified NTS and recommended by the committee and all the remaining 21 candidates got selected who had neither appeared/ passed the NTS text nor were recommended by the committee.
The NAB also closed the instant inquiry and referred the matter back to department. Sherry Rehman remarked that NAB was quick in arresting politicians over corruption charges but awarded 'silky gloves' to bureaucrats over the same charges.
The sub-committee agreed to wait for the outcome of a court appeal filed by Ministry of Finance against payment of 20 percent special allowance to employees of public sector universities.
The official of NAB informed the members committee that NAB had filed a reference against former Vice Chancellor FUUAST Dr Zafar Iqbal over unjustified and irregular payment of Rs 82.02 million and non-recovery of income tax of Rs 6.56 million for security services during 2014-15.
The committee showed its concerns that the university had purchased 80 kanals of land in 2009 for construction of the Islamabad campus at Mauza Moharian but there was no approach road to the site.
The Vice chancellor of the university said most of the cases which were reflected by the auditors had taken place during the tenure of former VC Dr Zafar Iqbal.
Member Board Capital Development Authority (CDA) Shahid Ahmed said the land was disjointed; therefore it would take time to give the university an access way to main roads due to private ownership of land by Bahria Town and other housing societies. The case for acquiring land was referred to FIA with a directive to complete the inquiry within six weeks.
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