FAISALABAD, Jan 9: District Education Officer (Colleges) Rana Mohammad Qasim was transferred after he had detected misappropriation of funds at the Government Girls College in Madina Town, sources said.

District Coordination Officer Tahir Hussain had made Mr Qasim an inquiry officer after complaints were lodged by some teachers of the girls college, who accused the principal, Nargis Rafiq, of extorting money from students on various pretexts and misappropriating government funds.

“The DEO in his preliminary report found the principal involved in over a dozen discrepancies and observed that the college had been converted into a money-minting machine,” the sources said.

According to DEO’s preliminary report, printing copies of the prospectus cost Rs237,500 over a period of three years while its sale generated Rs610,000. The Rs372,500 prospectus fund was allegedly used without observing any financial formalities “at the sweet will of the principal”.

An account for Mosque Fund was opened with a local bank on Jan 17, 2001 and operated by the principal rather than the Mosque Committee. “An amount of Rs 131,600 appears to be missing from the Fund,” it was alleged in the report.

The inquiry officer also detected irregularities in the purchase of furniture worth Rs1,524,000, purchase of books, construction of a tennis court, college canteen, post office, sale of cards, public call office and sale of scarves. He also reported out-of-merit admissions and illegal appointments.

He found out that a booth of the Bank of Punjab had been set up on the college premises without seeking the permission of the education department in violation of the rules.

The education department was supposed to get a case registered with the Anti-Corruption Department on the basis of this report. However, no further action was taken in this regard. The inquiry office was replaced by Chaudhry Mohammad Mushtaq as the DEO.