LAYYAH, April 7: The district accounts office has spoiled a last ditch effort by the executive district officer (EDO) for literacy to ‘mint’ Rs537,000 from public exchequer in the name of holding training sessions for teachers under the ‘Parrha Likha Punjab Programme’.

A close relative of the district nazim, EDO Muhammad Yousaf Khan had not conducted training sessions of teachers at all and indeed submitted fictitious lists of master trainers and as well as trainee teachers, Dawn learnt on Monday.

Former chief minister Pervaiz Elahi had launched the Literate Punjab Programme and allocated funds worth billions of rupees for finalisation of fieldwork, survey activities and opening of non-formal basic education (NFBE) schools and adult training centres all over the province. A sum of Rs600,000 was allocated for Layyah’s literacy department to hold teachers’ training programme.

On April 2, the literacy EDO submitted a Rs537,000 bill under Para 2 (a) of the Delegation of Financial Powers Rules 1990 read with Notification No (FR)11-05-82 dated July 30, 2002 issued by the government of Punjab, allegedly enclosing bogus documents, including a list of fictitious trainers and teachers.

According to conditions prescribed by the literacy and NFBE departments of the government of Punjab, teachers training should be conducted at tehsil and union council level by district literacy and non-formal teachers resource centres and a maximum number of 25 teachers should be given a 5-hour training in adult education daily for three days and for 15 days in primary education.

According to sources, the EDO filed the Rs537,000 bill without enclosing schedule of the training programme and without hiring government-approved master trainers. He also furnished a fictitious list of 179 teachers, especially without mentioning the venue where these teachers had been imparted training.

The district accounts office returned the bill raising an objection that under Rule 2 (a), any department could spend up to Rs 100,000 only.

The EDO, who is district nazim’s brother-in-law, was an employee of the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority and taught at the mechanical department of its Layyah institute as senior instructor prior to his posting as district government’s literacy department head.

When contacted, EDO Yousaf Khan maintained that any EDO had the drawing and disbursing officer’s powers to spend up to Rs 750,000.

He said that he had submitted the bill for costs of training incurred on refreshment, payment of honoraria and travelling allowance of master trainers at the rate of Rs200 per day per teacher. He said though the Punjab government had raised this ceiling, he had floated the bill at rates applicable previously.

He maintained that the district accounts office had wrongly objected to the bill and identical payments had been released in other districts of the province.

According to an official, if the objected bill pertained to any district government’s department, the EDO finance and the district coordination officer had the powers to review the district accounts officer’s objections.

Since the bill submitted by the EDO literacy pertained to a provincial government’s project, the secretary of the department concerned had such powers in this case these powers were with the provincial education secretary.

Sources said that local education circles had been questioning the EDO’s expertise in promotion of literacy. An official, requesting anonymity, questioned how a technician could qualify as a literacy promoter?

He said Yousaf Khan was posted EDO under the influence of district nazim on the basis of nepotism alone and nothing else.