LAHORE: A Chief Minister Inspection Team (CMIT)’s inquiry report has found a myriad of problems, including malpractice, corruption, bad governance, financial irregularities and violation of Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules among others, in the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC). The report, a copy of which is available with Daily Times, has recommended much-needed steps, including removal of PHEC Chairman Dr Mohammad Nizamuddin, to make the organisation vibrant. “Bad governance and poor management have resulted in low efficiency, weak performance of the PHEC. This may affect the credibility of the Punjab government if steps like removal of the culprits from service and sending back the corrupt and inefficient deputation employees to their parent departments are not taken,” the report says. The PHEC was formed in 2014 after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, declaring education a provincial chapter. The CMIT had launched an inquiry on the directives of former Punjab chief minister. On January 29, 2018, the CMIT wrote a letter to the PHEC chairman, informing the former about the inquiry into some serious allegations against the PHEC. “Based on CM’s directives, please be informed that CMIT is conducting an inquiry into serious allegations against PHEC. In this regard, the CMIT needs to conduct interviews of PHEC Director General Shahid Saroya, Sidra Maqsood, Khurram Jahanzeb, Rahman Naeem, Imran Niamat, Javeria Irfan, Zainab Siraj, Shahbaz Shamsi, M Khan, M Waqas and Muhammad Luqman, according to the letter no PSO/CMIT/CMD/2018/39. The report exposes a nexus of four top officials mainly responsible for alleged malpractices under the authority of PHEC Chairman Dr Nizamuddin. The four officials include Director General Shahid Soraya and directors Muhammad Luqman, Sidra Maqsood and Zainab Siraj. According to the report, the top officials were appointed at top slots in violation of merit. Among them Muhammad Luqman is a deputationist, while directors Sidra Maqsood and Zainab Siraj are said to be close aides of the PHEC chairman. “Zainab Siraj was appointed director without relevant experience, while PHEC DG Shahid Soraya had concealed facts in his resume to acquire the job in the PHEC,” the report alleges. “After taking the charge, Shahid Soraya somehow managed to hire his own team in the PHEC to facilitate him in his ulterior motives. He made several recruitments in violation of merit, including appointment of Zainab Siraj, Assistant Director Masim Ali (former assistant librarian at ITU), Assistant Director Shahid Imran, Research Assistant Faisal Namver, Research Assistant Saad and Assistant Khurram Shahzad, who had worked with Shahid Soraya as a clerk at the AIOU, Tahir Bashir, Syed Imaad, Sadia Ahmad and Asif Muneer,” the report claims. However, the report gives a clean chit to Azam Illayas, Zahid Bashir, Naveed Iqbal, who are members of a dissident group at the HEC being led by former HEC employee and PHEC Accreditation DG Zia Batool and DG Anees Sadozai. The report despite recommending repatriation of deputationists to parent departments tires to give favour to Director Training Dr Mubashar Nadeem, who is also on deputation from the University of Education (UoE). The report mentions that PHEC Chairman Dr Nizamuddin is providing services as a consultant to the University of Central Punjab against the remuneration of Rs 250,000 per month. “It is a conflict of interest and illegal practice being the regulator of private sector universities and receiving salary and benefits from them illegally,” the report says. “Dr Nizamuddin in order to facilitate his blue-eyed Sidra Maqsood, who is doing PhD at Punjab University and posted at the Government College University as an assistant professor, had favoured two universities – GCU and PU – because of vested interest of Sidra Maqsood. The report further adds that the officer of the PHEC chairman makes sure that nobody points a finger at Sidra Maqsood and takes a strict action against those who dare to speak up against Sidra Maqsood. The report alleges that PHEC DG Dr Shahid Soraya is providing his services simultaneously to PHEC and the Superior University, which is a grave conflict of interest and is not allowed under the law. “Dr Shahid got recognised different programmes of the said university by the PHEC in no time without disclosing that he was also serving at the same university.” “Shahid Soroya lacks the relevant experience for being the director general as per the statute of PHEC. He had worked as assistant librarian equivalent to BS-17 until 2016. He concealed the facts and submitted fabricated documents to get selected as PHEC DG-equivalent to BS-20 with four increments in 2016. The required relevant experience for PHEC DG as per rules is 10 years with PhD qualification, while he falls short of the required experience. Therefore, his appointment without relevant experience is total violation of merit and a fraud committed by him, the report adds. “One Asif Munir had attested all the documents of Shahid Soraya at the time when the latter applied for the post of the director general. Moreover, Asif Munir was later appointed a director in the PHEC.” Currently, both are working together. The report alleges that Shahid Soraya had attended 3rd International Conferences on May 24-26 in Czech Republic on public expense. “He had also visited Sorbonne University Paris again on public expense. Moreover, the report highlights that Muhammad Luqman, a deputationist, was appointed director admin in BS-19 in violation of merit and was given additional charge of director accreditation with all monetary benefits. Before that he was working as assistant professor (BPS-18) at the Government Postgraduate College, Township Lahore. “As director admin, he is handling all the HR process/ court cases in spite of non-relevant experience.” Muhammad Luqman is also accused of striking deals with private universities in exchange for money. “Muhammad Luqman also hired Muhammad Shahbaz Hussain in the accreditation division without approval of the commission. The report further points finger at Khuram Jahanzeb, PHEC chief operating officer. “The chief operating officer does not know how to run administrative division and finance division. During the audit of the PHEC in 2015-16, malpractices and financial irregularities were unearthed, showing his incompetency to administer the financial matters of the commission.” “He is also getting financial benefits in violation of the deputation policy.” It is pertinent to mention that COO brought Imran Niamat on deputation from audit and accounts to make sure that all of his “irregular activities are given a proper cover”. The chief operating officer is also accused of obliging a vendor, Jahanzeb, in various procurements of PHEC and PMU. Published in Daily Times, June 11th 2018.