PANJIM: Goa University (GU) could undergo a financial audit to establish the loss it endured due to the post-graduate and diploma course run from 2008 to 2011 by flouting rules.
A specially-appointed committee that exposed the alleged corruption to the tune of over Rs 70 lakh, has suggested that the amount be recovered from Gurgaon-based Bioinnovat Research Service Pvt Ltd that was appointed to conduct the ‘clinical research and clinical data management’ (CRCDM) course.
In 2013, GU’s academic council constituted a committee headed by Prof P F X D’Lima after students complained of irregular lectures and the faculty’s lack of knowledge on the subject.
The then vice chancellor Dr Dileep Deobagkar, former coordinator of the CRCDM Course Dr P V Desai (also Prof in the department of Zoology and Dean of Faculty of Life Sciences & Environment between 2007 and 2010), managing director of Bioinnovat Guljit Choudhary and others have been named in the report.
“The financial loss to the GU in terms of its fee share from the company as per the two memorandum of agreement and on the available list of students on GU records is estimated at Rs 13.06 lakh approx,” the report, released in a public statement by the executive council (EC) of the university, states.
However, Bioinnovat, it further mentions, is expected to have collected fees worth approximately Rs 70.80 lakh.
The committee has relied on evidence collected during the inquiry as it also found that fees collected from students at other centres like Kolhapur, Kochi, etc in the name of the course were not placed on record. Moreover, an ayurvedic doctor Dhananjay Lad – appointed to conduct the course though he was not associated with GU – had not issued proper receipts of fees paid in cash.
“…managed to get names of 13 students from Kochi and 14 from Kolhapur from whom course fees were possibly collected by the company and apparently not accounted for at GU. Further, it is presumed on the basis of conversation with some enrolled students that there are reasons to believe that the university could be kept in the dark over the fees collected from 70-odd Kolhapur students,” the report observed. Interestingly, no examination was conducted to the last five batches of students despite full course fees paid to Bioinnovat.
With the private agency appointed without following the selection processes and Dr Deobagkar failing to report related-information, including the financial aspects to GU EC, the committee recommended an audit of records available with the university.
“This is to determine the funds that need to be handed over by Bioinnovat to GU. Accordingly, a claim to that effect should be made and response of the company be conveyed to both the EC and ACB,” the public statement, signed by Registrar and Member Secretary of the GU EC V P Kamat states.
