Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly has written a final letter to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training seeking immediate action against the Director Admin of Basic Education Community School (BECS) and other officers allegedly involved in embezzlement of billions of rupees and getting illegal promotions.

The Chairman PAC has directed to recover the disbursed amount and warned that the matter would be sent to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) if the ministry concerned failed to take action against the corrupt officer in BECS.

According to the text of the PAC letter dated June 23, the Planning Commission and the Ministry of Education carried out two inquiries about corrupt practices in BECS and proved the fraud of making a director as project director and then releasing billions of rupees and getting illegal promotions.

The letter said the Director Admin BECS Shahbazullah had also misled the PAC by hiding facts and not providing the relevant record. He was also terminated previously on charge of corruption and got reinstated after two years. His termination and the present role of incurring loss to the national exchequer worth billions of rupees should be noted, it added.

It further said that the PAC had been corresponding with BECS for the last one and half year through the ministry concerned but the BECS programme not only kept the ministry in the dark but also provided faulty information to the PAC, as they had previously done to the higher courts and the Planning Commission.

The officer was also facing an inquiry in NAB & PAC, which was also looking into the element of fraud committed by a group of officers, including Shahbazullah in the third party validation (TPV) of the project.

It may be mentioned here that the said Director BECS Brigadier (R) Sirajuddin illegally promoted himself as Director BECS and other officers including Director Admin Shahbazullah, Director Sadia Atta Ghuman, Director Finance Abdul Hanan, Assistant Director Nadia Khan, Deputy Director Noreen Razzaq, DD Kashif Sohail, DD Samra Saman Kiani and DD Imranul Haq during the tenure of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s government without the approval of the BoD of National Education Foundation (NEF).

The director BECS with the connivance of other officers was also found involved allegedly in transferring the BECS funds amounting to Rs. 7900 millions in 2013 to a private bank account to avoid the funds lapse and later embezzled the amount. The matter is currently in PAC and NAB.

The BECS project is meant to provide free basic education to needy students and was launched to curtail the dropout rate in areas where parents could not afford their children’s education. The sad part is that BECS has been badly affected by corruption, mismanagement, violation of rules and politics. Under the rules the above officers were appointed on contract and couldn’t be promoted.

The official source of the ministry had informed that Shahbazullah had sought a long leave to flee the country but the competent authority had rejected the request.

When contacted the Joint Secretary Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Rafique Tahir didn’t attend up the phone to respond to the PAC directives.