The Auditor General has declared seven recruitments at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) as illegal and directed authorities concerned to terminate the services of these staffers and recover salaries paid to them.

It merits mentioning here that the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has already started an inquiry into the subject. The ACE authorities have written a letter to the Vice Chancellor of UET to appoint a focal person to produce a record of the case.

An insider of UET, while talking to 'Samaa', said that UET management was unmoved even after the concerns shown by the Auditor General. Among the professors, heads of departments, and administrative officers whose recruitment has been declared illegal and whose salary recovery has been recommended are Convener Admission Committee UET Dr Asim Lone (Associate Professor Electrical), Dean of Natural Sciences Professor Dr Shahid Rafiq, Chairman of the Department of Mathematics Professor Dr. Mushtaq, UET Narowal Campus Coordinator Professor Dr. Shehbaz, and Public Relations Officer Shahid Nazir.

The Auditor General, in his report, recommended the immediate recovery of crores of rupees from illegally recruited employees and teachers and the sacking of them.

In the report, action has also been recommended against the vice chancellor who recruited these employees against the law.

Several letters and reminders have been written to VC UET by the Auditor General to take action against the illegal recruitments and recover the salaries from them, which amount to crores of rupees, but till now the university administration has not taken any notice and no action has been taken, said a Professor of UET seeking anonymity.

As per the auditor report, the said teachers and employees were recruited without advertisement, degrees were not verified, and required experience and qualifications were not taken into consideration. It is pertinent to mention here that a case is under process in anti-corruption against the former Vice Chancellor, Dr Mansoor Sarwar, on the charge of illegal recruitment. Some circles of the UET are of the view that illegal recruitment has also been cited as one of the reasons for the financial crisis of the UET.

In this regard, when the registrar of the university, Asif, was contacted, he said that he had submitted a reply to the auditor general's report.

The matter will be taken up in the Special Audit Committee meeting. Some things are settled in the meeting, while others are referred to the public accounts.