LAHORE: The Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has pointed out financial irregularities and illegal appointments in the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in an audit report covering the period from 2019 to 2023.

The AGP’s findings highlighted numerous discrepancies during the tenure of UET former vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mansoor Sarwar.

The report, available with Dawn, reveals misappropriation of Rs166 million in employee tax deductions and illegal appointment of Dr Muhammad Mohsin as the coordinator of UET Faisalabad Campus, with a recovery demand of approximately Rs7 million.

Further scrutiny identified the appointment of Dr Shahid Rafiq as Dean of Natural Sciences and Humanities as unlawful, with a recovery of Rs13 million imposed.

The audit also points to severe financial mismanagement, causing the UET problems in disbursing salaries and pensions.

The audit report exposes a total misappropriation of Rs200 million in employee tax deductions during Mr Sarwar’s tenure.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a notice to the UET for non-payment of taxes.

The audit team has also flagged the illegal appointment of Arshi Khalid as an associate professor of mathematics at the Faisalabad Campus, resulting in a recovery of Rs7.5 million. Additionally, UET suffered a loss of Rs273 million due to non-auctioning of 91 shops.

The report says that the financial irregularities have plunged the UET into a financial crisis and impacted its ability to pay employees’ salaries and pensions.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2024