LAHORE: Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema on Saturday ordered cancellation of affiliation of all the private law colleges involved in a Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) scam and directed the authorities to blacklist them for affiliation with any public sector university in Punjab. He also ordered action against the BZU officials concerned but gave the students for the LLB three-year programme one-time dispensation.

The governor disposed of the revision petitions of the law colleges affiliated with BZU Multan and the students, directing the BZU Syndicate to proceed as per recommendations of the probe committee. He sought submission of a compliance report within 30 days.

Earlier, the governor’s office had constituted a three-member committee, led by Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, to look into findings of an inquiry completed about a month back and identify the culprits who had allowed 41 affiliated colleges to flout the rules to enrol more than 10,000 students.

The copy of the orders, available with Dawn, also directed the BZU Syndicate to take disciplinary action against university officers/officials found responsible by the committee and submit its report to the Governor’s Secretariat within 45 days.

The committee findings said, “The initial affiliation of only eight colleges with 100 seats was extended to other previously affiliated colleges on the self-declaration of the learned counsel of the BZU and accordingly orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan.

In the second instance on the assurance of learned counsel of BZU before the Multan Bench of Lahore High Court, the admitted students of law colleges were entertained (even over and above the intake limit of last year) which reflects the wish and will of the University to accommodate these students.”

However, it added that it seemed that the colleges having enrolment for the session 2017-2020, got students admitted in 2018-2021 in routine in line with the expectation of getting even more number of seats from the BZU for 2018-2021.

The students of some of the colleges over and above the intake of 2017 were issued enrolment numbers and allowed to sit the exams. Moreover, students of “Pakistan School of Law Pakpattan” (which was not even affiliated in 2017) were issued roll number slips to sit the exams.

The committee said the admissions of 1,315 students were not legitimate, including 350 students of “Pakistan School of Law Pakpattan”. The colleges that get students admitted without affiliation or over and above intake limit are imposed a fine of Rs5,000 each, which shall not be taken from the students as it is a penalty on the college, it said and added that the responsibility needed to be fixed against the officials of the university.

The committee, constituted by the chairman Syndicate/VC BZU in light of the decision of the Syndicate in its meeting held on 15.01.2022 be directed to fix the responsibility regarding irregularities of the university officials and submit its report to the Syndicate within 30 days, it stated and added that examinations of Part-1 and part-II Annual-2020 might be conducted immediately and Part-Ill examinations might also be scheduled as priority after completion of the academic year for LLB Part-III.

It also recommends that the affiliated colleges who rendered fake fee challan vouchers be directed to submit their dues in line with the university policy of late fee vouchers i.e. double /triple fee or fine.

The committee sought a review of the mechanism of fee reconciliation between the offices of the treasurer, registrar and controller of examinations that needed to be revisited.

However, it would be more appropriate that the BZU VC might constitute a separate committee for the past two or three years audit of fees to identify the gaps and formulate a standard guideline for fee reconciliation between the above three offices.

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2022