ISLAMABAD: The National Testing Service (NTS) is a non-profit organisation and registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), though it does not have shareholders.

The information by the rector of Comsats, which initiated the NTS, took the Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology by surprise.

“How can an organisation be listed with the SECP when it does not have shareholders,” asked Osman Saifullah Khan, who was chairing the Senate Committee meeting held here on Friday to discuss the issues relating to Comsats.

Also read: NAB receives complaint against NTS

When the committee took up the matter of the NTS, the Comsats rector, Junaid Zaidi, told the committee that testing service was a non-profit organisation registered with the SECP.

He told the committee that Comsats had no direct role in functioning of the service rather the testing body was an independent organisation.

To this, the chair asked the rector who are the shareholders of this company. In response, the rector insisted: “This is a non-profit organisation.”

Senators were surprised to know that the testing body is listed with SECP without having shareholders

The committee then decided to write to the SECP for details about the shareholders and would take up the issue in next meeting. The NTS makes a quick buck in terms of fee it collects for conducting test for recruitments in government organisation and admissions in universities.

The committee also took up a public petition, filed by an unemployed youth, seeking the committee’s intervention to stop NTS from charging high fee from job seekers.

The petitioner questioned the need of the testing body in the presence of Federal Public Service Commission and Provincial Public Service Commission.

At this point, the federal minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain was surprised to know that NTS charged fee from job seekers. “If NTS charges fee, how it can claim of being a non-profit organisation,” he questioned.

The minister said he was unaware of the functioning of the NTS, however, he said that during the next meeting, he would come up with complete details.

While briefing the committee about the profit earned by the NTS, the rector claimed that a 16-member committee under his supervision selected needy students for award of scholarships from the money earned by the NTS.

Last year, the Lahore High Court had declared the NTS an unapproved body and ruled that the recognised universities/institutions were not under any law bound to involve the NTS to conduct their entry tests or accept its results.

During the course of hearing, the Higher Education Commission had also distanced itself from the NTS, saying the body (NTS) had no formal approval from the commission to act as a national testing body.

The court, however, had allowed the NTS to continue its working as a private entity.

When the committee members asked about the fee structure of the Comsats, the rector said that it (Comsats) was relatively an affordable public sector university.

The committee also raised questions about its board of governors as 10 out of 19 members belong to Comsats, and directly report to rector.

The rector, however, insisted that the board members were powerful and independent, even though majority of them were his subordinates.

He told the committee that board was formed in accordance with the law. To this, the chairman said law could be amended.

The committee also discussed the issue of dual degree programme, which Comsats initiated in 2010, without the permission of the HEC and Pakistan Engineering Council. The committee recommended that as a one-time favour, all enrolled students be awarded dual degrees without any further delay.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2015

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