PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is considering a proposal to amend Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) Act, 2015 to give legal cover to a joint venture with Pakistan Air Force after the provincial law department termed it illegal.

Officials told Dawn that industries department had sought opinion of law department about handing over affairs of 11 technical institutes, execution of development schemes and monitoring and evaluation functions of KP-Tevta to PAF but it declared the decision taken by the entity’s board against law and rules.

“Now industries department has no other option but to amend the relevant laws to give legal cover to its agreement with PAF,” said an official, privy to the matter.

The cost of the venture is estimated to be Rs1.549 billion out of which Rs112.75 million have been released to PAF.

Law dept has termed handing over technical institutes to air force illegal

Documents available with Dawn show that earlier on November 4, the secretary of industries department wrote a letter to law, industries and establishment departments, seeking their opinion about the joint venture with PAF.

The letter notes that in the light of directions of the chief minister, management of Tevta has handed over the affairs of 11 vocational training centres, execution of development schemes and monitoring and evaluation of KP-Tevta institutes to PAF and signed MoUs in this regard.

The letter says that Tevta management would provide Rs1.549 billion to PAF. It also notes that after taking over the institutes, PAF posted out most of the staffers from these institutes. Most of these staffers are now working in other institutes whereas they are drawing their pay and allowances from the regular budget of their institutes.

“Pay and recruitment of new staff in 11 institutes and operational budget is being released to PAF out of KP-Tevta funds. It means that two budgets are being allocated to one institute, i.e. one from regular side through finance department and the other from KP-Tevta fund,” the letter adds.

The law department in its opinion dated November 11 noted that legality of funds released to PAF under development schemes depended largely on the legality of handing over institutes under the administrative and regulatory control of Tevta to PAF.

“There is no provision in KP-Tevta Act 2015, which warrants/empowers the board to hand over institutes to PAF,” it said, adding that as per the provision of clause (e) of Section 7 of the Act, the board may enter into joint venture under KP Private Public Partnership Act, 2014 but that too with a private entity whereas PAF was not a private entity.

The letter noted that the board, under the sub-section (h) of Section 7, for attaining financial independence, could outsource any of its institutes or service and detailed mechanism for such outsourcing was given in Rule 15 of KP-Tevta rules 2016. “But in the instant case, instead of financial benefits/independence the board has released funds to PAF for running the institutes, which have been handed over to PAF,” it said.

The letter noted that as per the preamble and Section 3(2) of the Act, the institutes imparting technical education were to be under administrative and regulatory control of Tevta. “Therefore handing over of institutes to PAF is not covered by any of the provisions of the Act and thus the fund released to the PAF has also no legal cover,” it added.

The law department also declared recruitment of the staff by PAF a violation of Aection 16 of Tevta (Appointment, Promotion and Transfers) Regulation, 2015.

It said that procurement of machinery and tools by PAF was also violation of Rule 14 of KP-Tevta Rules 2016 and regulation 8 of the KP-Tevta (Functions) Regulation 2015.

It said that allocation of Rs113.5 million for running of day to day expenses of air commodore office had also no legal effect. It added that releasing fund for monitoring and evaluation of institutes had also no legal cover as directorate of monitoring and evaluation was responsible for it.

It noted that in the light of the Sub-rule (i), release of funds to PAF for operational and development purposes had no legal effect and it was violation of KP-Tevta (Functions) Regulation 2015 as it was responsibility of the directorate of operations.

Farah Hamid, the secretary of industries department, when contacted, said that advice of law department was based on lack of complete information. “Now a comprehensive case has been forwarded to it,” she added.

The secretary said that the department was processing amendments in KP-Tevta Act for quite some time to correct some anomalies. She added that it was not related to that case.

Published in Dawn December 22nd, 2016