AGP flags Rs5.29bn malfeasance
ISLAMABAD: The Auditor General of Pakistan has flagged financial irregularities amounting to Rs5.29 billion in the operations of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and its affiliated universities during the fiscal year 2023–24.
According to the Audit Report 2024–25, the largest observation pertains to the retention of Rs4.852 billion by the HEC in its own income account instead of depositing it into the federal government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA). This action constitutes a violation of Section 37(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 2019, which mandates that revenues collected by autonomous public sector bodies under statutory powers must be routed through the TSA. Despite a formal notification from the Finance Division in January 2023 explicitly placing HEC under the TSA regime, the Commission continued managing and utilising these funds independently.
The collections during FY 2023–24 included Rs1.13 billion from attestation and equivalence fees, Rs2.43 billion from Pakistan Education and Research Network (PERN) recoveries, Rs343 million from the Digital Library project, Rs409 million from the Education Testing Council, and Rs163 million from interest income. Audit authorities rejected HEC’s justification that these funds were needed to supplement grant-in-aid allocations, asserting that compliance with the law cannot be waived based on internal financial needs. The Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) instructed HEC to obtain formal clarification from the Finance Division regarding TSA compliance and share all related correspondence with auditors.
Beyond the TSA issue, the audit revealed unauthorised disbursements totaling Rs359.617 million made to public sector universities under various development projects, without approval from the Planning Commission or its Development Working Party (DDWP). For instance, COMSATS University Islamabad received an excess of Rs58.7 million under its “Strengthening of Academics and Research Activities” project, while Hazara University was disbursed Rs29.5 million beyond its approved allocation. Other universities also benefited from unapproved excess disbursements under HEC’s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP), all without revised PC-I approvals. The audit concluded that this practice violated established Planning Commission guidelines, undermined fiscal discipline, and raised serious concerns about fund utilization and oversight.
The report also uncovered procurement-related violations, with HEC spending Rs35.076 million on IT equipment under the “Smart Universities” project without adhering to open competitive bidding procedures mandated by Rule 12(2) of the Public Procurement Rules, 2004. Laptops, servers, and other equipment were acquired using direct contracting or limited tendering, despite crossing the financial threshold that requires national advertisement. Critical documentation, such as bid evaluations, comparative statements, and advertisement records, was missing, raising concerns about non-transparency and possible favoritism in procurement processes.
In a separate finding, HEC failed to recover Rs7.569 million in liquidated damages from a contractor who delayed the construction of the National Academy of Higher Education (NAHE). Although the contract included a penalty clause of one per cent per day for delays, the Commission neither imposed penalties nor issued formal notices, resulting in a direct loss to the public exchequer due to weak contract enforcement and poor project monitoring.
The auditors also pointed out unauthorised foreign travel expenditures amounting to Rs4.055 million, incurred without seeking mandatory approvals from the competent authority. These expenses, related to overseas visits by HEC officials, violated internal rules governing foreign deputations. Similarly, HEC was found to have spent Rs36.878 million on office renovations and refurbishments under the NAHE and “Strengthening of HEC” projects without preparing or securing approval for a PC-I document, as required by development project regulations.
Collectively, these audit findings reveal serious violations of financial, procurement, and legal protocols by HEC and its associated institutions, calling into question the governance and oversight mechanisms within Pakistan’s higher education sector.—NUZHAT NAZAR
