Inquiry ordered as ghost students found in PEF

Punjab government pays Rs550 per child each month to the schools and NGOs for teaching them

LAHORE: The chief minister has ordered an investigation after 287,000 students were found fictitiously registered in schools under the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) programme.

Connivance of schools, government officials and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is suspected in the case as fake record had been prepared to embezzle about Rs1.1 billion annually.

The Punjab government’s record shows that it was paying tuition fee of Rs550 per child each month to the schools and NGOs for teaching the children. Despite reports about ghost students in the schools, the payment by the provincial government continues.

PEF Managing Director Shamim Asif has issued notices to the officials concerned after the matter came to his knowledge.

Provincial Minister for School Education Murad Raas said while commenting on the issue said he is aware of reports of mismanagement in the Punjab Education Foundation. He said he has ordered an inquiry into mismanagement in the PEF, which would be completed soon. He said strict action will be taken against officers found involved in corruption. The culprits will be held accountable and no one will be allowed to waste even a single penny from the national treasury, he added.

PEF Managing Director Shamim Asif said the matter is being investigated and explanation has been sought from the officers concerned.

On the other hand, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has ordered the CM Inspection Team to investigate the matter and submit the report within seven days, adding that strict action will be taken against the officers involved.

Punjab Teachers’ Union General Secretary Rana Liaquat Ali praised the chief minister and school education minister for ordering an investigation into corruption in PEF affairs. He said it appeared that the organisation had been formed for nepotism.

He said the more than 4,000 government schools should be taken back from the Punjab Education Foundation. A special audit of the funds received by the foundation in the past 10 years should be carried out, he added.

Sources claimed that the minister and PEF chairperson had stopped the MD from sending the matter to the board of directors. The sources also expressed fear that officials involved in the scandal had started tampering with the record to hide corruption after the matter came to light. They alleged that the record was being changed despite the inquiry ordered by the chief minister. The sources said the deputy managing director has kept his office open on orders of School Education Minister Raas.

The deputy managing director of the PEF summoned the finance and audit officers yesterday, after the report about the corruption and inquiry into it surfaced. It is feared that the record may be manipulated to replace names of the students who are not attending the schools.

PEF Chairperson Wasiq Qayyum Abbasi said he is not aware of the matter. He said the issues being raised were related to the administration. Meanwhile, a notification on the matter, issued yesterday, has also surfaced.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2020.