The auditor general has detected Rs 5.28 billion corruption in the Punjab Education Ministry and directed the authorities concerned to take punitive action against corrupt officers.According to the report, the record pertaining to purchase of items worth Rs 363 million has been wasted in the Lahore Engineering University, while nine educational institutions have made investments worth Rs 3.78 billion at different level. Also nine government colleges have wasted Rs 269 billion in the name of building maintenance and repairs. The report further says that various colleges have made transactions of Rs 212 million in bank accounts of their own choice while different colleges have spent a sum of Rs 117 million on purchase of unnecessary items. The report further says that about five colleges have recruited blue-eyed persons without the permission of authorities concerned, causing a loss of Rs 36 million to the national exchequer. “Purchase of Rs 27 million was made without the permission of purchasing committee while Rs 20 million were distributed among undeserving people under the head of cash award,” the document adds and maintains that a retired professor of the Fatima Jinnah Women University was re-appointed and a sum of Rs 16 million was wasted. The report reveals that Rs 7 million have been wasted on the name of scholarship and various colleges have given Rs 100 million among employees in advance, while students have not been given Rs 20 million in scholarships. Moreover, Rs7 million have been wasted in the name of scholarship and various colleges have given Rs100 million to employees in advance, while students have not been given Rs20 million in allocated scholarships. Such vast sums of money were simply wasted or pocketed and there was no accountability of where it was going.
The Secretary of the Provincial Higher Education Commission expressed complete ignorance about this mega-corruption fiasco. Under his nose the Education Department has become the most lucrative departments in the government, having one of the highest numbers of employees, teachers and the greatest neglect in transparency.
Recently, a new summary of Rs4 billion has been prepared to seek funds to “overhaul the dormant system”, in rural and urban schools of Islamabad. But there really isn’t any point considering past performance. Big budgets are spent each year on the construction of schools staffed with ghost teachers, and upon the salaries of such ghost teachers. Hiring, transfers and postings at voluminous levels bring windfalls for those at the helm of this department.
The government officials themselves are one of the sources and causes of this parasitic and dysfunctional system. The top echelons in the education branch barely spare time to fix the faults, except for directors, deputy directors and the director-general ferrying between to sort out bundle of official files that are only related to promotions, perks and privileges.
pk.shafaqna.com
