At the government level, the most important and well defined rule against the economic interests is strong moral code. The question is whether similar rules and regulations can and should play a role in higher education in Pakistan. Obviously the answer will be “Yes”. The real dilemma of Pakistan is the lack of good quality and first rate education at higher level. The universities’ focus is not to produce the intellectuals rather it reflect the image ‘how to mint the money’.
Corruption at public sector universities is at top. The top management involves in such a pathetic, dismal and wretched crime. Unfair, dishonest, unequal treatment, financial scams, favouritism and nepotism have produced the corrupt image of the universities and its top management including vice chancellors, registrars, controller examinations and even the nation builders ‘teachers’. In exchange for academic benefits; fraudulent invoices will be sent for payment; or financing is wasted on luxury or unauthorised expenses, or private rather than institutional purposes. The public sector universities have large lands but the high officials of the universities use them for their own economic interests and political pressures. This is going on in our universities.
Financial corruption at universities has become more subtle. This is undermining and discouraging the moral foundation of educational cause and mostly producing morally, ethically, financially and socially corrupt people. Political intervention in universities affairs is prevalent in Pakistan. This is really unfair and unjustifiable that less educated but powerful people have strong influence on the educational institutions. Our public sectors universities are still under the political. The top management obeys the illegalities of political elites to just save their seats.
The University of Sargodha has suffered the loss of Rs1.362 billion due to the mismanagement and corruption of the former Vice Chancellor Dr Akram Ch in establishing private sub-campuses, affiliating private colleges, development projects and making illegal appointments. The private sub-campuses made admissions over and above the approved number of seats, causing a loss of Rs 1205 million to the University
Recently a few professors/top management staff of the public sector universities was arrested and hand cuffed. A number of questions were arisen on this act of NAB. The first question: was it bad to hand coughed the ex-professors? This question has diversified answers.
The important thing is that if the university professors would be corrupt and criminals, how can we expect to be a sound nation because nation builders have their own vested political and economical interests and they are involved in corruption. All these top class professors ruined the image of real and dedicated teachers. As Dr Abdul Kallam once stated if a country is to be a corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, there are three key societal members who can make a difference; they are father mother and teacher. But in Pakistan teachers have become corrupt when they got top and decision making positions.
Corruption, sleazed, dishonest and abuse of the power in educational administration have become common in public sector universities. As the case of the arrest of ex-vice Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran and Dr Akram Ch is concerned there are many documents which shows that they were allegedly involve in corruption and misuse their powers in their universities. They made many appointments on their own discretion to get political and financial benefits. They have never care about the meritocracy. They gave the public lands to the corrupt political mafia for the sustainability of their position. They always give the favour to the corrupt people. Imagine, if university management would be so corrupt then how can we expect better from those who would be graduated from the same universities and perform their duties in different public organizations with transparency and honesty.
As for as the issue of the University of Sargodha is concerned, the arrest of former Vice Chancellor Dr Akram Ch, former registrar, CEOs and directors of private campuses, some new facts regarding the sub-campuses scandal have been revealed in the documentary evidence provided by the University to the NAB investigators.
The University of Sargodha has suffered the loss of Rs1.362 billion due to the mismanagement and corruption of the former Vice Chancellor Dr Akram Ch in establishing private sub-campuses, affiliating private colleges, development projects and making illegal appointments. The private sub-campuses made admissions over and above the approved number of seats, causing a loss of Rs. 1205 million to the University. The University suffered a loss of more than Rs. 157 million due to the mismanagement in development projects undertaken during the tenure of former VC.
A loss of Rs. 34 million due to the forgery in the project of Sargodha Medical College, Rs 28 million in project of KhushAab Water Unit, Rs 29 million in the project of Industrial Unit, Rs 66 million in the project of University Medical Complex and Research Centre and Rs17 million on the investment with HBL, University of Sargodha Branch, were caused to the University. The vice chancellor Dr Akram established private campuses illegally without fair and open competition process as Lahore and Mandi Bahauddin campuses were established even without obtaining the necessary approval from the syndicate.
All the paperwork and requirements were done in haste within 24 hours in order to establish Lahore Sub-Campus using emergency powers by the then VC. The VC, used his emergency powers for 2175 times, vested in him under U/S 13(3) of the University of Sargodha Ordinance, 2002 to grant affiliations and extensions in affiliations to more than 625 colleges and to make 498 illegal teaching and non-teaching appointments without advertising the positions whereas the Syndicate had approved only 116 affiliations.
The VC allowed five private colleges, including Command College Sahiwal and Islah College Lahore to conduct the examination under semester system like PPP campuses. It was the height of corruption at university level.
The next question in minds of the intellectuals is: If somebody is corrupt and has misused the public resources would be welcome with the flowers or put locks around their hands? Of course they must be treated like other suspects or criminals.
The intellectuals says such crooked and corrupt professors must be given tougher time than the other criminals. They should never be regarded or respected. They are actually directly involved in the destruction of the whole nations. These professors behaved like ‘Don’ in their time of absolute power at their offices. They never care about the respect and integrity of the university and even state. They exploited and deteriorated the youth at maximum. They played pivotal role for creating chaos, depression and disturbance in young people by ruing meritocracy.
The country is generally poor, if the level of corruption is high even at educational institutions, so if its members are involved in corruption, this abuse wastes limited resources, depressing participants and negatively affect productivity and make the young people mentally sick.
The public opinion is making now a days that the professors should not be treated in such a way as NAB has done. This opinion will give more courage and confidence to the corrupt educational elite mafia. The media and the public must rethink over this opinion building.
Institutional corruption is not only morally hateful and irreparable, but also socially dangerous because it touches the core of democratic institutions.
The writer is a PhD scholar and author of various books on international relations, criminology and gender studies. He can be reached at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, October 22nd 2018.