HEC asks Peshawar, Swat varsities to repay unutilised funds

PESHAWAR: Taking exception to the under-utilisation of funds, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has directed the University of Peshawar (UoP) and University of Swat to refund the unutilised amount forthwith or else it would be deducted from the next installment of grants.

The HEC asked the UoP in a letter that it had failed to utilise Rs246 million of the Rs510 million released for the project ‘Strengthening the University’.

The letter said the funds couldn’t be properly utilised in the financial year 2016-17 due to improper planning.

It said the non-utilisation of the funds hobbled the efforts to strengthen universities.

“The Ministry of Finance stopped releasing Rs11.665 billion to the HEC during the last fiscal year due to the non-utilisation of the funds. It affected the ongoing projects of other institutions. Therefore, the commission has decided to withdraw the unutilised funds from the universities and divert the amount to the projects being executed at other universities,” the letter read.

The UoP has been asked to refund the unutilised funds amounting to Rs246.364 million to the HEC or else face deduction in the next installment of the recurring grant.

The UoP remained under caretaker setup for nearly two years that adversely affected its academic, administrative and development activities. The UoP recently got its fulltime Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohammad Asif Khan.

The lapse of hundreds of millions of funds is a serious issue for the new vice-chancellor, an official of the university said, adding that action should be taken against those responsible for the slow pace of work on projects.

The University of Swat is still being run by an interim setup.

The differences between the provincial government and Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra over the choice for the vice-chancellor have delayed the appointment of the regular vice-chancellor for the university.

Sources said the provincial government proposed the name of Dr Shafiqur Rahman while the governor/chancellor of the university was interested in appointing Dr Jamal Khattak.

The governor pointed out that the universities in Malakand division functioned under the presidential domain, not under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, so it was solely his prerogative to appoint the vice-chancellor of the three universities in Malakand division, including the University of Swat.

The sources said the governor sent back the summary about the appointment of the vice-chancellors for the universities of Swat and Malakand to the HEC with the observation to suggest another name from among the three persons recommended by the academic and search committee.

The sources said the HEC re-submitted the summary and proposed Dr Shafiqur Rahman for the position.

The HEC also sent a letter to the University of Swat to refund the unutilised funds amounting to Rs127.5 million.

The letter said that Rs130 million was released to the University of Swat for establishment of its Phase-I, but it could spent only Rs2.5 million.

The university was asked to refund the unused amount at the earliest so that the money could be diverted to ongoing projects in other universities.

The letter warned that the money would be deducted from the next installment of the university’s grant if it failed to refund the unused amount to the HEC.