Chandigarh, June 23
The Punjab State Council of Education Research and Training had parked huge funds in bank accounts years ago and forgotten all about these. Separately, Rs 13.66 lakh meant for the conduct of the Class V examination had been wrongly diverted to print and prepare the Punjab Plan and budget for the 10th Plan — years 2002-2007.

The inquiry report on the "education scam" points out a maze of irregularities in the SCERT in the past five to 10 years. The Tribune had first highlighted the scam in its edition dated May 25 this year following which the inquiry was instituted. Sources in the government said a "clean-up" would be ordered next week.

In what can be described as an example of indifference, Rs 32.91 lakh is lying locked in FDRs in a bank in Chandigarh. The amount was invested 23 years ago. The FDRs had been renewed. In the same account Rs 4.39 lakh is also deposited. The account has not been operated since 1988. The inquiry report says it amounts to the blocking of government money and there is no justification for even opening such accounts and depositing money. The money was meant for an audio-visual library. However, says the report, no other records of funds received, the cash book and vouchers are available.

The report goes on to say that Rs 24.28 lakh has been kept in bank accounts and terms these as "abandoned accounts". The report says the accounts meant for the construction of the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) have not been operated since July, 1998. A sum of Rs 5.65 lakh was deposited in this account. Actually, the existence of such an account came to light during the inquiry. Account number 81001 in Punjab National Bank's Sector 17 branch here is for DIETs and the office could not explain satisfactorily the circumstances and purpose of opening this account, says the report.

Another Rs 12 lakh is lying in the account for the "Class V examination". It has not been operated since November, 2002. After referring to four more bank accounts like these, the inquiry report says " there is a complete mess and chaos of bank accounts". This blocked money for periods ranging from four to 16 years.

A sum of Rs 7.71 crore was spent on building DIETs through money sent under a centrally sponsored scheme. Funds were released through the government treasury to the PWD for construction. No records exist to show whether the entire money was used by the PWD for these buildings. The report says the records relating to matters like budget allocation, contingent bills, vouchers, correspondence files and stock registers are not available.

The inquiry team found that Rs 1.39 crore had been wrongly mentioned in the totals of the cash book. Separately, Rs 28.95 lakh was withdrawn from bank accounts of the council, but no records exist in the cash book. Another Rs 11.49 lakh was deposited in the accounts but there are no records to indicate where the money came from as this is not reflected in the cash book. These records have been sourced from bank statements, says the report, adding that there is a huge difference in accounts. To make matters worse, Rs 26.11 lakh is shown as withdrawn in the cash book of the council. However, there is no matching entry of withdrawal in the bank statement for that period.

Notably, the report mentions that 330 reams of paper received as aid from Unicef were sent to printing presses or issued to individual officers, but no records exist of utilisation. Also, no records exist of 270 reams of paper under a Communication Access to Primary Education (CAPE) scheme. The paper was used for other purposes and some of it was "loaned" to a functionary of the Education Department.