RAUTAHAT, Dec 6: A UNICEF-funded project in Rautahat district has come under scrutiny with some NGOs complaining of irregularities in the selection criteria.
Some 20 NGOs have filed a complaint at the District Administration Office, Rautahat demanding a probe into irregularities while selecting NGOs for a girls' education program worth Rs 12 million.
The District Non-formal Education Committee had selected five NGOs out of more than seven dozen applicants flouting the set standards, according to the district education office.
“NGOs which did not meet the criteria set in the proposal called by the District Education Office were selected for the program,” said Dinesh Kumar Yadav, coordinator of the Social and Economic Development Institute of Jhunkhunawa. “We have filed a complaint regarding the unfair selection criteria. We suspect irregularities in the process,” he claimed. “We have demanded that the decision be cancelled and a new selection be held by maintaining transparency.”
Yadav further said that they would file a court case unless the case is probed by the concerned authorities. “The minute was erased and rewritten. The UNICEF was supposed to select only one organization but five were selected,” he said.
Prahlad Adhikari, assistant district education officer, claimed that the set standards were not violated and transparency was maintained while selecting the NGOs.
Narahari Baral, chief district officer of Rautahat, admitted that the complaint regarding girls' education program has been filed at his office. “We are investigating into the case seriously,” he added.
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