Senate committee orders investigation into NAVTTC funds

Sets up fake degree verification desk

ISLAMABAD:

The Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training on Wednesday ordered investigations into alleged financial irregularities in the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and announced strict measures to address the issue of fake degrees, while also declaring a controversial meeting held at the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD) null and void.

The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Bushra Anjum Butt, who directed the establishment of a permanent help desk at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to verify academic degrees.

She said exact data would be compiled on unverified institutions and fake degrees, stressing that students should not suffer due to institutional negligence. The HEC secretary assured the committee that the help desk would be set up immediately.

The committee then took up an agenda forwarded by Senator Rana Mahmood-ul-Hassan regarding the functioning, transparency and financial management of NAVTTC over the past five years.

NAVTTC officials informed the committee that 71,000 students were trained in 2025, including 6,200 from Balochistan and 43,000 from Punjab, and that no fixed quota existed for South Punjab.

Officials stated that NAVTTC's annual budget stands at Rs7 billion, with per-student expenditure ranging from Rs80,000 to Rs140,000, and that funds are disbursed directly to institutions through joint accounts. However, a student representative from South Punjab contradicted this claim, alleging that only Rs1,500 per student was provided for training.

After hearing both sides, the committee constituted a subcommittee headed by Senator Kamran Murtaza to investigate alleged embezzlement under NAVTTC programmes, identify institutions involved and fix responsibility.