HEC draws PAC’s ire for keeping Rs28bn in commercial banks

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee expressed annoyance over the Higher Education Commission for keeping over Rs 28billion in commercial banks.

Not satisfied with the replies of the Higher Education Commission, the Public Accounts Committee directed HEC to hold the Departmental Accounting Committee (DAC) meetings on all the audit objections. The Public Accounts Committee was chaired by Noor Alam Khan in which the audit objections related to Higher Education Commission for the financial year 2020-21 and 2021-22 were examined.

Expressing his displeasure at HEC for not holding the Departmental Accounting Committee, Chairman PAC asked why were the funds kept in commercial banks instead of assignment accounts. Executive Director HEC Dr Shaista Sohail told the committee that the absence of benches of the National Bank of Pakistan from some remote areas of Pakistan led to the money being kept in commercial banks. Expressing dissatisfaction over HEC’s response, PAC ordered a fresh DAC on all audit objections. The Chairman also highlighted the contradiction in the statements of the HEC Executive Director

PAC member Ahmad Hussain Daher said irregularities worth Rs 500 million were reported at Bahauddin Zakariya University because the funds were kept in a commercial account. “The finance minister should explain under which law the HEC was allowed to keep the funds in commercial accounts,” he asked. The audit officials said the Finance Division had violated the rules. They told the committee that the HEC transferred development funds to commercial bank accounts without authorisation. The universities have to open assignment accounts for keeping funds, the audit officials said.

While examining another audit objection regarding the US Need Base Scholarship, the audit officials told the PAC that HEC could not meet the target for the scholarship. The donor would have disbursed the money only after the universities had competed for the scholarship, but they have failed to do so due to which this facility was lost.

The PAC ordered an investigation and said the issue should be taken up in the DAC. Chairman Noor Alam Khan said education is a matter of youth’s future and its shortcoming cannot be ignored.