A former officiating Vice-Chancellor of Purbanchal University (PU) has been accused of being involved in financial irregularities during his 11-month tenure.
A PU source claimed that Professor Sirish Rijal had been involved in financial irregularities during his period last year. Rijal had permitted students who had failed the entrance examination to appear in the final examinations of Bachelor of Nursing and Post Basic Bachelor of Nursing levels. “Forty-three students who failed the entrance examination were penalised Rs 300,000 each and allowed to appear the examinations,” the source said.
According to the news published in The Kathmandu Post, Purbanchal University fined:
- Hope International College (5 students) in Lalitpur,
- National Academy for Medical Science in Old Baneshwor (1 student),
- Koshi Health and Science Campus in Biratnagar (1 student) ,
- Shree Medical and Technology College in Bharatpur (4 students),
- Everest College of Nursing in Tinkune (9 students),
- Chakrabarti Habi Education Academy in Bhaktapur (13 students), and
- Krishna Medical and Technical Research Centre in Janakpur (4 students)
The examination board decided to allow these students to appear in the examinations which was held on June 17, 2014. However, the collected amount has not been included in the income record of university. “Rs 10.29 million have to be added in the income record but no money is deposited there,” the source claimed.
As the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) suspended Vice-chancellor Maheshwor Man Shrestha and Registrar Niraj Pandey and Exam Controller Mohan Bahadur Basnet among six others for their alleged involvement in financial irregularities, the government had appointed Rijal as the officiating PU Vice-Chancellor on May, 2013 for three months. The Special Court had acquitted the then Vice-Chancellor Shrestha and his group on March 2014.
Registrar Pandey said that his colleges are unable to pay the penalty amount as the students are not in contact.
The then Exam Controller Bodh Hari Acharya said they are compelled to allow the students to take examinations because colleges have filed a case at Appellate Court demanding to include the students in the final examinations. “The court ordered to take examinations of all students and PU decided to charge Rs 300,000 for those who have failed their entrance exam,” he said.
Source: Ekantipur
