LAHORE: Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) managing director’s appointment is under question as stakeholders claim the incumbent has been appointed in violation of the PEF Act 2004 and its statutory body’s approved human resource policies.

Sources claim that Dr Aneela Salman’s appointment as MD was never ratified by the foundation’s board.

The PEF’s HR policies require that a managing director should be appointed through advertisement of the post followed by a selection process. However, Dr Salman, who was demoted from BPS-19 to BPS-18, was directly posted as managing director on Sept 17, 2013, by the Punjab government.

Later, the foundation’s human resources management deputy managing director on behalf of the former chairman issued a notification of her appointment as MD on deputation against a vacant post.

Sources claim that Dr Salman also does not fulfill the eligibility criteria for her appointment as managing director because the foundation’s HR policies and procedure manual requires that a managing director should have a minimum of 18 years experience, including five years at strategic management level in a medium sized organization.

A PEF spokesman says Dr Salman was appointed as MD by the competent authority and ratified by the foundation’s board of director (BoD).

“The matter of the fact is that Dr Salman was appointed as MD PEF on the request of the PEF BoD. Former PEF chairman Raja Anwar had sent a summary in this regard to the government for her appointment and she was appointed by the Punjab government as managing director as per rules and policies. The PEF BoD fully supports the appointment of Dr Aneela Salman and has raised no objection,” the spokesman said.

Regarding Dr Salman’s demotion, the spokesman admitted that the MD was in BPS-18 and she had already completed her mid career management course (MCMC) for regular promotion in BPS-19. Earlier, she was on study leave to complete her PhD in the US due to which she could not join her MCMC.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team (CMIT) had unearthed financial embezzlement in the organisation but no administrative or legal action taken against the accused. Sources claim that the three accused (Amir Iftikhar Ahmed, Nadeem Masood and Nasir Akram) had been given a safe exit by “not extending their already expired contracts”.

Besides action against the corrupt, the chief minister on the recommendations of the CMIT had ordered that the foundation should hold its special audit covering financial, performance and recruitment aspects by an appropriately constituted team of government auditors. The chief minister had also asked the foundation to downsize it’s employee’s strength from 280 to 172.

It is learnt that the PEF board did not comply with the chief minister’s orders as it neither arranged foundation’s special audit by the government auditors nor downsized its strength. On the contrary, the foundation has called proposals from the private audit companies for the holding of special audit as well as issuing advertisements for further recruitments.

The PEF has also not considered CMIT’s recommendation that calls for “action against officers of the HR and finance wings besides observing a zero tolerance policy for corruption and indiscipline without any manifestation of personal likes and dislikes”.

Admitting that the the charges against the three officials (Amir Iftikhar Ahmed, Nadeem Masood and Nasir Akram) were proved in the departmental inquiry, the spokesman says the inquiry report was presented to the BoD, which decided the accused officials’ removal. “As their contracts were already expiring, so the contracts were not extended and they were shown the door,” he stated.

Regarding special audit by the government auditors, the spokesman says, “It’s incorrect to presume so. There are three types of audits held every year in PEF. One of them is commercial audit which is conducted by the government auditors annually through the Auditor General of Pakistan”. He says the BoD has also directed holding of audit through internationally reputed firm for which terms of references have been designed/ approved and advertisement has also been placed in the media for the selection of the firm.

About chief minister’s orders about downsizing in the foundation, the spokesman says the chief minister did not issue any such orders regarding downsizing.

“It was rather a proposal in a CMIT report, which deserves a proper and careful study as the foundation is in the process of expansion and playing an important/leading role in achieving the goals of Punjab Eeducation Sector Roadmap Programme.

Published in Dawn February 8th , 2015

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