PAC recommends ban on NTS, orders inquiry

• Shah asks HEC to arrange NTS tests, says relevant universities should arrange tests
• Committee orders FIA to bring ex-COMSATS VC back along with all looted money

ISLAMABAD: The Public Account Committee on Tuesday recommended the government to immediately impose a ban on the National Testing Service, alleging corruption and malpractice in the department.

The committee made it clear that they would not allow handing over the future of the young generation in the hand of a mafia. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of opposition leader Syed Khursheed Shah here.

A review meeting was also held regarding the objections on the audit report 2016-17 of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). It was also disclosed in the meeting that COMSAT’s former vice-chancellor Haroon Rasheed has fake degree despite he (the former VC) had been served the country’s prestigious institute.

The committee ordered the FIA director to bring him back in the country along with all looted money. Besides Khursheed Shah, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Javed Akhlas, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Sardar Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Shahida Akhtar Ali, Nazir Sultan and Azam Swati were in attendance.

Shah informed the meeting that the NTS officials had offered him to get his choice students pass from the test with good numbers but he refused, showing his determination to completely eliminate corruption from the department. On a question, the Science and Technology secretary informed the meeting that the NTS officials were not ready to audit financial expenditures of the department.

Upon which, the committee directed the authority concerned to confiscate all the record of the NTS and initiate departmental inquiry in order to secure the future generation from corruption mafia. It is pertinent to mention here that the NTS Department was responsible of conducting tests for the public sector institutions and departments, but its former head himself was allegedly involved in the corrupt practices.

The officials also briefed the meeting that some corrupt people were still holding positions in the department and there were chances that many of them having fake degrees. Mahmood Achakzai said that all four provinces have separate NTS authorities. The PAC chairman asked the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to itself arrange NTS tests.

In fact, the test conducting responsibility should be given to the relevant universities, he remarked. The PAC directed the FIA director general to bring the former NTS chairman back to the country with all looted money. Azam Swati said that he had dismissed Haroom Rasheed from his post of chairmanship at the COMSAT University in Abbottabad while he was minister for his alleged involvement in immoral activities.

Unfortunately, he said he was later appointed as NTS head. It was also discussed in the meeting that the Federal Urdu University had allegedly released Rs 370 million to its employees as house allowance. The committee ordered probe into the matter. It was disclosed in the meeting that the varsity administration has allegedly involved in corruption on the name of new plots.

It was added in the meeting that the COMSAT Lahore administration has also charged Rs500 million from students for issuance of degree and about which a high-level inquiry has been ordered. The committee directed to initiate investigation into the case of 36 students who have been fled abroad on the name of scholarships. These students have cost 140 million to the national exchequer.

The authority concerned informed the meeting that recoveries have been made from three scholars whereas 33 others’ cases were under proceeding in courts. The audit authority told the meeting that the International Islamic University of Islamabad administration had released Rs160 million to its employees as medical allowance.

It was also disclosed in the meeting that the COMSAT management spent Rs1.1 million to celebrate the national day of Italy whereas spent Rs80 million to arrange seminars and conferences of Pak-China business forum. The committee also order inquiry into the matter. Haroon Rasheed and SM Junaid were declared the biggest corrupt in the financial scams.

The illegal release of allowances to the employees of the Allama Iqbal Open University was also discussed at the meeting. The committee was told that the AIOU administration also issued Rs70 million to its employees illegally and ordered inquiry. It was also disclosed in the meeting that the COMSAT administration appointed 65 consultants, upon whom over Rs70 million were spent.