Overseas scholarship programmes: HEC scholars or con artists? Catch them if you can

HEC sues 21 students for breach of contract, five students served legal notices, recovery from six underway.


Riazul Haq April 07, 2013
HEC sues 21 students for breach of contract, five students served legal notices, recovery from six underway.

ISLAMABAD:


The best and brightest minds in Pakistan, might be really good con artists as well. Try as the commission may, it is having a tough time getting hold of students who have now managed to settle abroad on local taxpayers’ money.


According to a recent Higher Education Commission (HEC) report, at least 21 ‘high-achievers’ given foreign scholarships are now being pursued through legal notices for breaching their contracts.

Legal proceedings have been initiated against these ‘outstanding students’ over breaching the terms of HEC scholarships, mostly for failing to complete their doctoral studies in time
or failure to return to Pakistan after completing their studies abroad.

According to documents available with The Express Tribune, five other students have so far been served legal notices while recovery from six students is underway.

Interestingly, an HEC official who is part of the overseas scholarship programme said that in 10 cases, when legal notices were served on the addresses of the candidates listed in their scholarship application documents, the addresses were found to be false.

The documents also reveal that eight students had been granted waivers by the National Scholarship Management Committee (NSMC).

The HEC Human Resource Development (HRD) division has been running the “Overseas Scholarship” programme since 2003.

The HEC processes students’ documents for higher studies abroad after scrutiny and holds interviews for candidates using a panel of HEC’s partner agencies and foreign professors.

On the flip side

Meanwhile, students pursuing higher education abroad have to bear the brunt of “flawed” coordination between the HEC and foreign institutions, as many candidates complained of facing hardships in completing their studies in different disciplines.

Serious questions have been raised by critics over the HEC’s yardstick for selecting and finalising students for overseas scholarship programmes. It appears that the procedure does not take into consideration several things including courses offered and facilities available in the intended institutions abroad.

Adnan Manzoor had to return to Pakistan from Netherlands in 2008 when, after one-year of study, his supervisor raised objections that his master’s degree was not equivalent to an internationally recognised one requiring 18 years of education. The supervisor reportedly suggested the student be placed in their master’s degree programme.

Another student, Feyez Shakil Ahmed, who went to France for his PhD, soon approached the HEC complaining that the laboratory in which he was working lacked resources and he could not continue his studies unless the lab was changed.

Jalal Khan, who went to the United Kingdom, failed to get admission to the London School of Economics, saying there was no research supervisor available.

An official at the HEC told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity that the HEC’s claims of running a ‘tough and rigorous’ selection procedure could be seriously doubted because of “blunders” like these, which have landed many candidates into trouble and tarnished the commission’s name.

HRD Director Muhammad Raza Chohan admitted that such issues would emerge soon after the prospective candidates reached the intended country.

“We have a rigorous policy and tough criteria for selection of candidates, but one cannot judge the capacity of a person in few tests,” he said.

The HEC chairman could not be approached for his version, despite sending several text messages on his cell phone.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2013.

COMMENTS (5)

rasheed | 10 years ago | Reply

I donno at present what is the criterion of selection of scholars during Dr Javed era, but during Dr Atta-ur-Rehman it was quite fair, only deserved candidates were selected.

momina | 10 years ago | Reply

HEC started on a visionary note of Prof.atta ur rehman....but as the time passed many universities,reserach organizations and ministries came into the connection and interlinking of HEC..........now if you deny secretary of education' daughter an overseas scholarship abroad YOU just can imagine what ll happen to HEC funds..........so on its own very few officials of HEC itself ever got the chance to avail overseas scholarships just lke any ordinary citizen...........but its the liasion parties who use HEC as a bait for their personal ambitions.

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