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Three more BZU syndicate members get notices to record statements

By Shakeel Ahmad 2015-05-18
MULTAN: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has started recording statements of syndicate members of the Bahauddin Zakariya University over the alleged illegalities and the violation of rules for the establishment of a university`s sub-campus in Lahore.

The sources said that NAB officials recorded statements of two syndicate members and issued notices to three others to appear before them to record their statements.

In December 2013, the then provincial education minister Rana Mashhood had informed Punjab Assembly members in a question-hour session that the provincial government was going to refer the BZU`s Lahore sub-campus issue to the NAB.

In January 2015, a meeting of the NAB`s executive board had authorised an inquiry against BZU ViceChancellor Prof Dr Khawaja Alqma, Registrar Malik Munir Hussain and others.

The NAB`s press release issued at that time had stated that the accused persons, in connivance with each other, illegally opened the BZU`s Lahore campus without getting approval from the university syndicate and NOC from the Higher Education Commission.

In the process, over Rs200 million funds had been collected from the intending students.

On other hand, on the `observations`of syndicate members, the BZU had issued the revised minutes of its syndicate meeting held on March 21, claiming that the BZU`s Lahore subcampus was having a status of existing campus.

However, syndicate`s three members challenged the university`s act of issuing revised minutes saying that observations could only be made part of the minutes after discussion in the syndicate meeting.

The minutes of meeting of syndicate (1/2015) held on April 13, 2015, were approved in the syndicate meeting of March 21 as Item No 1.

`The chair informed the learned syndicate members that all proceedings, including an earlier notification issued on July 13, 2013, (controversial approval of Lahore campus wasobtained through circulation by members) and subsequent notification issued on Sept16, 2014, (university administration claimed to get approved the campus once again, but members alleged that minutes of the meeting were distorted) were never approved by the syndicate and any further proceedings/actions taken in a so-called 5/2014 meeting of the syndicate held on Sept 15, 2014, are not valid,` the minutes signed by all 14 members, including the chair (VC), stated.

According to the minutes of March 21 meeting`s Item No 2, the house unanimously adopted a policy framework for establishment of a sub-campus of public sector universities under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode in Punjab duly approved by the Punjab Governor vide notification No SO (univ) 6-6/2013-P on Feb 9, 2015.

`Keeping in view SOPs defined in the above mentioned notification, all interested parties will be asked to apply for the establishment of BZU`s Lahore sub-campus; however they will have to fulfill all the codal formalities required by the law,` the minutes concluded.

In the meanwhile, the minutes of March 21 meeting were circulated among members on March 26 while a syndicate meeting was called on April 14 by the university administration in which seven observations raised by members were made a part of agenda to discuss in the meeting which could not be convened.

According to the university administration, the meeting was called off due to the shortage of quorum while the sources say the meeting could not be held as the university administration and some syndicate members received phone calls from the NAB with a direction not to convene a meeting on the Lahore campus issue, as the issue was being investigated.

In a surprising move, the university administration without discussing the observations in the meeting had issued revised minutes of meeting on April 17.

Usually the registrar being a syndicate secretary writes and issues the minutes approved by the VC, but it is for the first time in the university`s history that minutes have been issued by the VC.

In agenda for April 14 meeting, there were seven observations, but according to revised minutes, the university received eight observations.

Sources said it was also the first time in university`s history that the chair (VC) submitted his observationon the minutes he approved.

In minutes the VC stated that the unsolicited proposal of existing Lahore sub-campus was approved for onward submission to PPP steering committee for further process as per guidelines issued by the Punjab government.

`I am also of the considered opinion that the BZU`s Lahore sub-campus is having a status of existing campus not only because it was initiated by the BZU administration, but was also dully allowed by the Punjab government, and approved by the syndicate through a circulation. However, currently it is working under the orders of the civil court,` the VC stated.

The two syndicate members Dr Shaukat Malik and Rana Ejaz Noon denied giving any observation in this regard.

The three-member syndicate -retired Justice Muhammad Zaffar Yaseen, retired Prof Farkhanda Mumtaz and Prof Dr Muhammad Ashig Khan Durrani -in their separate letters to the VC stated that the syndicate had never approved the BZU`s Lahore campus under the BZU Act 1975 or under PPP Act 2010.

`Rather, a notification of July 13, 2013, issued on the basis of the socalled approval of syndicate members through circulation and a subsequent notification of Sept 16, 2014, were withdrawn by the learned VC/ Chairman Syndicate in the 1/2015 meeting of the syndicate held on March 13, 2015.

The proposed/draft agreement had never been executed between the parties and nor registered. Therefore, under the law, No BZU campus at Lahore subsists,` said the letter.

It stated that observations on the minutes can only be made part of the minutes (revised minutes) after discussion/deliberations in the meeting of the syndicate, otherwise without such deliberations minutes already dictated/approved by the chairman syndicate during the meeting shall be presumed to be in order.

`I would lil
Further,itis expected thatno step shall be taken on the basis of alleged observations and treating the same as part of revised minutes,` the letter concluded.

Syndicate member Dr Shaukat Malik confirmed that he has been summoned by the NAB authorities as witness on May 20.