Live Correspondent: Officials of University Grants Commission (UGC) on Monday urged officials concerned to start and finish development projects of public universities on time to reduce project costs.

“Due to untimely completion of development projects in most public universities, the time and cost of project implementation is increasing. The universities are facing audit objections due to the increase in expenditure for the lack of proper financial discipline,” they said.

They also said that integrated financial policy formulation, pre-audit and monitoring cells will be strengthened to reduce the audit objections in public universities to zero.

Addressing as chief guest, UGC member Prof Dil Afruza Begum said that a huge amount allocation of revenue budget is remaining unspent every year due to lack of proper use of the funds and the incompetence of university is being proved due to it.

She also said the UGC’s audit monitoring cell would be strengthened in order to reduce audit objections to zero by establishing financial discipline in public universities.

UGC member Prof Abu Taher said transparency and accountability will have to ensure at public universities at anyway because the law of public universities is not giving financial autonomy to the universities.

Appropriate action will be taken against them who will provide facilities violating the existing laws and regulations, he added

Directorate of Education, Culture and Religious Affairs Audit Director General A.H.M Shamsur Rahman, UGC members Prof Md Sazzad Hossain, Prof Muhammad Alamgir, Prof Biswajit Chande and UGC Secretary Ferdous Zaman also spoke among others at the event.

Dhaka, 12 October (campuslive24.com)//BIT