PESHAWAR: Alleged financial irregularities amounting to Rs920 million have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Education Department during a single year of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, raising questions about financial oversight and the use of public funds.
The reported irregularities were carried out during the tenure of Shahram Khan Tarakai as provincial minister for Elementary and Secondary Education.
According to the reported findings, irregularities amounting to Rs374.3 million were identified in the provision of tablets to newly recruited teachers hired through district education officers.
A total of Rs424.7 million was spent on distributing tablets among 15,000 individuals. A committee was subsequently formed to investigate the matter. However, according to the scrutiny committee’s report, only 1,779 tablets were returned to the Directorate, while the remaining 13,221 tablets could not be accounted for.
Separately, alleged irregularities amounting to Rs48.7 million were reported in the procurement of paper by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Mardan, during the fiscal year 2022–23.
The report further stated that the award of a contract to a favoured firm in violation of government rules and regulations allegedly caused a loss of Rs192 million to the public exchequer.
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In another case, the board chairman reportedly withdrew Rs7.1 million under the head of executive allowance, despite not being entitled to the allowance.
According to the audit report, the purchase of smartphones also resulted in an alleged loss of Rs13 million to the public exchequer.
The reported findings raise concerns about procurement procedures, the distribution of public assets and compliance with financial regulations in the provincial education sector during the PTI government.