Three SMBBMU Doctors Sent Abroad for PhD Never Returned, PAC Told
Three doctors from Larkana’s Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University never returned home after completing PhDs abroad on federal government scholarships, the Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee was told on Tuesday.
The revelation came during the committee’s review of the university’s audit paras for 2022 and 2023. Vice Chancellor Dr Nusrat Shah, Director Finance Muhammad Rafique Sarki and officials of the Sindh Higher Education Commission attended the meeting, which was chaired by Nisar Khuhro.
Seven SMBBMU doctors were shortlisted under the federal Higher Education Commission’s PSDP scholarship project and sent abroad in 2016 for four-year PhDs. Three of them stayed on after finishing their degrees.
Who the doctors are
Vice Chancellor Dr Nusrat Shah named the three before the committee, chaired by Nisar Khuhro: Dr Shah Alam Solangi, who went to China; Dr Zafar Ali Abro, who went to Germany; and Dr Benazir Abbasi, who went to London and Ireland.
Each doctor was paid $1,200 a month during the four years — $3,600 a month for the three, or $43,200 a year. The total spent on the three came to $129,600 — public money that audit officials say was lost to the national exchequer because no action was ever taken against them.
Dr Shah told the committee that a petition has been filed in court but the case is pending, and the doctors’ whereabouts are unknown. Before leaving, they had submitted land documents as surety and signed an agreement. She said that once the court decides, the university will auction the surety land to recover the amount.
The PAC directed the university to write to immigration authorities and the relevant embassies, and to recover the full sum.
A fake degree in the same hearing
The meeting produced a second embarrassment. Of 1,030 staff degrees verified by the HEC, one — a BS Nursing degree held by lecturer Fareeda Badar — turned out to be fake.
Badar was recruited in 2016 at Rs45,000 a month, a salary that had risen to Rs150,000. She has since resigned. The PAC directed the university to recover ten years of salary paid to her.
The university’s scale
Dr Shah told the committee that SMBBMU runs 33 affiliated colleges and institutes, 12 hostels, and teaches 3,000 undergraduates and 800 postgraduates. Its income comes to Rs1 billion from fees, Rs3 billion from the provincial government and Rs150 million from the federal HEC.
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Frequently asked questions
Which doctors did not return?
Dr Shah Alam Solangi (China), Dr Zafar Ali Abro (Germany) and Dr Benazir Abbasi (London/Ireland) — all sent abroad in 2016 under an HEC PSDP scholarship.
How much public money was spent on them?
Each received $1,200 a month for four years, a total of $129,600 for the three doctors.
What action has the PAC ordered?
The committee directed the university to contact immigration authorities and embassies and to recover the full amount, including by auctioning the surety land once the court decides.
What was the fake degree case?
A lecturer, Fareeda Badar, held a fake BS Nursing degree. Recruited in 2016, she drew salaries up to Rs150,000 a month before resigning; the PAC ordered ten years of her salary recovered.
