Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for Parliament on Wednesday discovered several discrepancies and irregularities while underwent auditing paras in the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

During the meeting, it was revealed that many students who received HEC scholarships for higher education abroad did not return. In addition, buildings were constructed at Quaid-E-Azam University without getting approval from the authorities concerned.

The meeting was held with PAC chairman Junaid Akbar Khan in the chair. The meeting was informed that 89 out of 92 Fulbright fellowships in the United States were canceled, while HEC’s CEO said 96 scholars remained in their host countries instead of returning.

The chairman ordered the authorities to intervene against students who traveled abroad on HEC scholarships but could not return, and said that instead of studying, they took up jobs. He said cases should be filed against such students and their passports are canceled.

The PAC chairman also raised concern that students were blackmailed for better brands, which emphasized the need for discipline in the classification system. He suggested that the same teacher preparing the study document should not be responsible for classifying it as this practice enabled extortion.

Auditing officials told the meeting that three buildings, including a girls’ hostel, were built at Quaid-E-AZAM University without the approval of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) building plan.

In the revision of the audit regarding the delay in the establishment of the engineering facility at Karakoram University, the auditor’s general committee stated that the cost of the project increased by RS2,10 billion due to the delay.