‘Lapsed amount’: UoP administration returns scheme grant to HEC

Leaves students worried as they cannot afford fees

PESHAWAR:

Students of University of Peshawar, especially those from remote areas, have expressed rage over the lapse of Prime Minister’s Tuition Fee Reimbursement Scheme funds.

“A large number of students have applied for this scheme but now the UoP administration has refused to provide the amount,” a student of UoP from Malakand, Waqas Ali Shah, told The Express Tribune on Tuesday.

“Students from underprivileged backgrounds are facing difficulties as they cannot afford the university fees, and the administration refuses to support them.”

Another student from Malakand, Rasheed Khan, has said that the grant for 2014-15 was distributed without anyone knowing about the recipients as the university did not make any announcements regarding it.



Recently, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl MPA Advocate Munawar Khan raised a question in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, saying the students have been deprived of their rights as the funds have been sent back to the Higher Education Commission by the UoP administration.

On the question of the MPA, Minister for Higher Education and Information Mushtaq Ghani said that the amount was returned to HEC as it had expired. However, the MPA has demanded investigation regarding the lapse of funds.

However, UoP Admissions Director and focal person of the scholarship Professor Dr Hizbullah said that the university administration has distributed the amount of the scheme and the amount for 2015-16 has also been released and will be distributed among the students soon.

“The amount was only for students enrolled in the morning shifts and covers the tuition and hostel fees and some other expenses,” said Hizbullah. He added the funds are not for those enrolled in the second shift who are demanding the amount. “We have not lapsed any amount and will distribute it among deserving students.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2015.