PESHAWAR: The alleged corruption stories from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s 13-year rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have started surfacing, with the education department revealing massive financial irregularities worth Rs 92 crore in just one year.
According to an official report of a private news channel, the biggest irregularity was found in the distribution of tablets among students and teachers. Through the District Education Officer, tablets worth Rs 42.47 crore were to be distributed among 15,000 people, but in this head alone, an irregularity of Rs 37.43 crore has been reported.
To probe the matter, an inquiry committee was formed which in its report stated that as many as 13,221 tablets are missing and there is no record of their distribution. The committee found no acknowledgment receipts, no beneficiary lists and no verification, raising fears that the tablets were sold in the open market or distributed among blue-eyed persons.
The report further reveals that in the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Mardan, an irregularity of Rs 4.87 crore was found in the purchase of paper for examinations. The board had purchased paper at highly inflated rates in violation of procurement rules.
In another case, by awarding a contract to a favourite firm without open competition, a loss of Rs 19.20 crore was caused to the national exchequer. The report also points out that the Chairman of Mardan Board withdrew Rs 71 lakh as executive allowance despite not being entitled to it and without approval from the competent authority.
Similarly, a loss of Rs 1.30 crore was caused in the purchase of smartphones for board officials, as expensive phones were purchased at double the market price.
Sources said that during PTI’s tenure from 2013 onwards, the education department remained one of the most funded departments under the slogans of education emergency and digital learning, but audit reports were allegedly suppressed. After the recent administrative changes, old audit paras are being reopened and the matter is likely to be referred to NAB and the Anti-Corruption Establishment for a full-scale investigation.
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